Shinigami
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Taken off the streets of Rukon as a child, how will Ichigo Kurosaki fare when he's inducted into the Soul Reaper/Shibusen Academy? And should he endure the harsh rigors of a new school, will he survive the coming conflicts and betrayals that lie in wait?
1. Sword

"_Let's take the long way home, Ichigo."_

"_But mommy, it's starting to rain…"_

_"Don't worry, I brought my umbrella."_

_He grinned, squeezing her hand a little._

_"Okay!"_

"_Ah!" A car sped by through a puddle, splashing mucky water right onto him._

"_Oh my, oh my, what a bad truck. Are you okay, Ichigo?" She pulled a cloth out of her pocket and began to wipe his face. "Sorry. Here, let's switch. I'll walk on the roadside._

"_It's okay! I'll stay on this side. I'm wearing a raincoat, so I'll be fine!"_

_Masaki smiled._

_It'd been such a carefree smile too...._

"_Why are we stopping. …Mommy?" He tugged on her skirt._

"_We're waiting for someone. A friend of mine."_

"… _Okay." He smiled up at her as they both shared the umbrella, then froze as a strange dark shape loomed over them. His eyes went wide, he took a small step back, and tried to speak._

"_Look out! Run!" Ichigo remembered his panic as that humongous, masked monster leered at them that day. His mom didn't pay attention to the monster with an Angler-fish type lure protruding from his forehead. In fact, she seemed...._

_Calm._

"_Shhh, It's okay, Ichigo. Calm down." _

_She seemed calm._

_He was rigid, unable to take his eyes off of the threatening entity._

"_Do you trust mommy, Ichigo?"_

"Whoa!" The teenager started violently upright and awake, a cold sweat breaking out upon his skin. Startled eyes darted this way and that, until he finally recognized his makeshift home in Rukongaki. He'd been living here for the most of his foreseeable life

_'That dream again..._

**"Are you done screaming yet?" **A deep, irritated voice snapped at him, resonating from somewhere within his head, startling him, even after all this time. "**You're making a ruckus."**

"Um...Yeah." He breathed at last, hoarse from so much crying, as he'd apparently been weeping in his sleep again, something he still had yet to understand entirely. "I think I'm good. Now, whaddya want, old geezer?"

**"Bakame." **The voice spit back at him as he got out of bed, which was little more than a sack of hay for a pillow, and a ragged curtain used for a makeshift blanket. "**Show me some respect. As I said yesterday, you'll likely attract more attention this year, and that puts you in even more danger than before. Hollow will stop at nothing to devour you, thanks to that constant reaitsu you're emitting."**

"Yeah yeah," The teenager bent down to the bucket of water he kept at the foot of his door, splashing the cool liquid upon his face to regain his senses. "I know, end of the world, gloom and doom, that sorta stuff, right?"

The reason for this disembodied voice, you ask?

Last year, on his twelfth birthday, well, he wasn't sure if he really was twelve then, he'd just picked a day for his birthday and stuck with it, he'd begun hearing this voice, that of an old man, speaking to him. It'd been whispering to him for awhile

And he didn't even know the geezer's name.

Over the years, it'd gotten worse, louder, and now, the mysterious stranger spoke to him almost daily, interjecting its own opinion into his thoughts and ideas. He'd asked Renji and Rukia, his childhood friends about it, this voice that only he could hear, but Renji just laughed at the notion, whilst Rukia would put on a puzzled expression and shrug, saying she didn't hear anything.

**"A vast oversimplification," **sighed the wayward spirit with an air of frustration,** "But yes, we'll go with that for now. It's not my place to tell you what must be done, you have to figure it out yourself. You'll know what you have to do, when the time comes. Enjoy the next few days while you can. Once this week ends, everything will change."**

Before Ichigo could ask what that meant, a voice intruded upon his thoughts and the ragged pieced of wood he'd used for a door, trembled once, shook violently, and caved in at his feet, tipping over the bucket and soaking the dirt floor of the hut.

"Ah, there ya are, Kurosaki."

"Eh?" He froze, eyes narrowing as a shadow framed the door. "Howddya know my name?" The fellow was a tall, slender man, his features hidden behind a black shihakusho and the badge of a lieutenant worn round his right arm

_Shinigami. _

His lavender purple hair, and eerie smile, left the boy on edge. If this man was a shinigami, then that meant he was trouble, and trouble was the last thing Ichigo Kurosaki wanted to encounter, especially when he hadn't stolen...erm _eaten _breakfast already.

"O-Oi, who're you?"

A cold hand lashed out, seizing him by the wrist. He froze, feeling as if the life were being drawn right out of him, just by this man's, this shinigami's touch.

"H-Hey!" He struggled, but to no avail, he was held fast. "Lemme go!"

"Mah, mah, stop whinin'," The man chided, roughly dragging him into the street, despite the boy's best efforts to resists. "Take it easy, I ain't gonna hurt ya."

That...turned out to be one big fat lie....

--

_'PATHETIC!' _

_Five minutes later _Ichigo cursed himself, lying in a broken heap upon the ground. This guy...he wasn't normal, he wasn't normal at all! He'd been mercilessly kicked around Rukongai, all the while being chided to 'let it go'.

Let _what_ go damnit?!

_'This is...pathetic!'_

_Yes, that would be you. _A deep, masculine voice echoed in his ears, bringing him pause.

All the colors of the world faded to grey, faceless, nothinginess. The man, his sword pointed to the boy's temple, had now frozen in its extended flight, a mere centimeter from striking the killing blow.

_Face me, Ichigo._

"Huh?"

There, floating in the abysmal darkness before, was a rugged looking man, his long hair streaming as if blown by some invisible wind, as was the cloak in which the rest of his body seemed to hide itself within. Eyes, hidden by tinted sunglasses, bored into his own.

_Why are you running away from yourself, Ichigo?_

"I-I-uh...

All at once, he was kicked, landing rudely upon the floor, as his body bounced once more upon the pavement. When he tried to breathe, a thick wad of blood escaped his lips.

_**You still haven't called me yet.** _The man continued, his voice taking on a darker tone.

"Gah," He doubled over clutching his stomach. "Why the hell did you kick me?!"

_**Face forward, Ichigo!** _The man urged, looking him square in the eye, with such intensity that he actually froze there for a moment, both in his mind, and in the real world. _**You should be able to hear it now.** __**The only thing plugging your ears is your own fear.**_

**_There's only one enemy, and there's one of you. So what is there to be afraid of? _**A cold, ruthless scowl formed upon the dark man's face, giving him an even more menacing look. Voices, his, the man in black, and countless others, rushed through his skull, flooding him with emotion.

_**"Abandon your fear."**_

_"I..._

_**"Don't give an inch!"**_

...can't...

_**"Never Stop!"**_

"No!"

_**"If you retreat you will age."**_

"I won't!"

_**"Be afraid and you will die!"**_

At his side, flashing into existence, a blade bathed its master in blue light, mingled with that of a shattered hilt. His body, motionless until this point, now whirled about, grasping the hilt with such force that his palms actually bled from the strain.

**_"Now!" _**The man commanded!**_ "My name is..._**

"Oh?" The shinigami arched an eyebrow, his eyes becoming visible for the first time during their one-sided scuffle. "What...do we have here, hmm?" The boy's reiatsu, which had been relatively low to begin with, was no approaching sixth seat level, and _still rising_.

Interesting. He'd had the potential to begin with, but now, he'd just needed a push...

"Zangetsu!"

He took a deft sidestep away from the overflow of reiatsu that arced past him in a flash of azure flame, spitting smoke and lightning every which way, almost as if a miniature thunderstorm had been born upon the blade's release.

There, kneeling in the smoke, was Ichigo. Bluish red mist still swirled at his feet, forming a small circle as the haze finally began to fade.

In his right hand, he clutched a metal hilt wrapped in cloth, part of it trailing in the wind his power had created. No guard could be seen upon its form, for from this cloth wrapped hilt, came a large blade, rather resembling an oversized butcher knife, its edge a shining silver, its flat, a deep, ebony black. It was one blade, no guard, nothing.

A pure, raw, unrefined power.

It was...

_Zangetsu._

"Hmm." Gin Ichimaru frowned slightly, eyeing the huge gash that had been ripped into the streets of rukongai. As he saw that the boy was leaning directly agains the sword for support, he chuckled. "Ya really tore up the place with that one." Ichigo, he'd passed out from drawing his sword, and now, his reiatsu hovered at that of an average fifth seat.

The boy's reaitsu was wild, rough, and coarse, both as much a danger to himself as it was to others. If he hadn't been found by the end of the week, he'd most likely have self destructed from it.

With a barely audible grunt, Gin picked Ichigo up, sword and all, wincing at the weight of the sword, and the lack of weight from its master. Kami! The boy was little more than skin and bones!

Tsking to himself, the lieutenant gave a long, heavy sigh. "Yare, Yare. Yer a scary one, ya know that?" He understood why Aizen wanted this boy, he'd realized it from the moment he'd skewered the door with Shinso and observed the boy's furious reaction.

With the proper training...

This lowlife could surpass them all.

Taking that, and the apparent malnourishment of Ichigo, Ichimaru decided he'd best report his findings to Aizen, and with a quick one two step, dissapeared in a flicker of shunpo...

**_Next time: Academy days._**


	2. Shinigami

**Note: Around this time, Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Izuru, and Hinamori, are all teenagers. Another note: This shall be a Soul Eater Crossover, if the first chapter wasn't enough to give it away. Let's just say that from now on, Ichigo is in for a LONG four years of school, both at the Soul Reaper Academy, and at Shibusen!**

_**Shinigami**_

_(???)_

_Hello._

_Hey?! You scared me!_

_Oh, sorry. I see you're still noisy._

_What's that supposed to mean?!_

_It means what it means, boy._

_Grr...fine, then whaddya want?_

_I want you to stop dreaming._

_Stop...dreaming?_

_Yes. Your dreams irritate me. I can't sleep because of your constant wailing._

_I...don't do it on purpose. It's not like I try to!_

_Good. It should be easy for you to stop then. It's not befitting of a meister...or a shinigami._

_Eh? Meister? Shinigami? You keep calling me that. What's it supposed to mean?_

_You'll know soon enough. Now wake up. I'm hungry._

_Wha-HEY!_

_--_

_"Meister?"_

The word tumbled off his lips as he came too.

Bleary eyes opened to the sight and smell of food, and the reassuring weight of Zangetsu, his new sword, strapped to his back. The thing was massive, easily bigger than him, yet when he sat up, the sword was light as air, and weighed little to nothing on his back. However, Ichigo still didn't recognize this place, this room, and though it left him uneasy, the sight of food, just waiting there on the table, was too much to pass up.

The room was empty, he realized, after a quick glance over, and it had only one door, which, of course was locked. There was one window, which allowed the sunlight to occasionally peek through, and aside from the couch he'd been laying down on, the room was relatively sparse, not counting a symbol for fifth on the wall, a desk, and some chairs scattered about.

The aroma of food tickled his nose, and his stomach growled piteously in response, pleading for , he approached the table, and when no one shouted or screamed at him when he tried to touch the food, he carefully sat down in a chair...

"Go ahead, dig in."

"Ah!" Startled, Ichigo tumbled out of the chair, crashing in a heap to the floor. Groaning, he looked up at the speaker, only to find himself staring upwards at a mild-featured man with brown scholarly hair enhanced by square glasses. He wore the standard Shinigami uniform with a captain's haori.

"Hello." The man raised a hand in greeting, his smile warm and full of kindness. "Nice to meet you, I'm Aizen Sosuke, captain of squad five." He took one look at Ichigo, and pulled out another chair for him.

"Here, take a seat. I assure you, the rest of your friends are being taken care of." Ichigo eyed him warily, wondering how he knew about Rukia and Renji, and whether or not they'd been picked up by that weirdo, but he did so, for he was desperate to get some food before he collapsed. "I had my cook prepare this all this food for you, so I'd hate for it to go to waste before you-

Ichigo didn't hear the rest of it, he _was_ too busy digging in.

--

_(The next day)_

Now he realized what Aizen meant, but it was too late to renege on their deal. Oh sure, he got a free meal, a place to sleep, but now, now he had to go to this Soul Reaper School! Although he was dressed in the new blue robe of a student, and not to mention he'd taken his first shower ever, just last night, he still was none too pleased with this situation.

"Good luck with your weekend classes." Aizen called one last time over his shoulder, his kind smile infusing Ichigo with warmth, leaving him almost sad to see the captain go. "I'll come check up on you next week. And don't get into any fight's before then alright?"

"Urgh, fine." Ichigo sulked at the mention of his roughousing habit staring until Aizen had rounded the corner, leaving him to stare up the walkway that led to the academy. Wait, now that he thought about it, what did Aizen mean by weekend classes? The Academy wasn't open on weekends-

"Ah, hello!" A cheery voice dragged Ichigo from his depression, so much so that the former rukongai resident actually jumped in surprise. But by then, a long hand had reached out, hoisting him up by the back of his coller, leaving him dangling in the air. "So you're the one who'll be attending extra weekend classes, hmm?"

"Oi! Lemme go!" He snarled, thrashing in the grip of whomever it was that held him. What he saw was confusing, and for a moment, he stopped squirming, his eyes darting between his assailant and the sword he'd stolen.

"Teme!" He cried, reaching for his weapon, which not surprisingly, the stranger held further away, his arm seeming to stretch a little bit, almost as if it were made of rubber. "Gimme my sword back!"

"Ah, ah, ah." The stranger chided, waving a white, blocky finger at the boy, while the other kept Zangetsu safely out of his reach. "Is that anyway to address the head of an academy?"

_'Eh?'_

He'd exepected some scary looking dude to be the head of the school, not...

This?

He als wore a black robe with many jagged edges which appeared to house his arms and cover his entire body with his face being covered by a cartoonish skull mask. Altogether, it was a rather odd get up, something you'd expect to see on television, not here, in real life.

"Shinigami!" The man declared cheerily, dropping Zangetsu, to flash Ichigo the peace sign. "But that's Shinigami-_sama_, to you."

"Shinigami....sama?" Ichigo blinked again, mildly annoyed, but at the same time, struggling not to laugh at the same time from the incredulous look of this Shinigami person. "What kinda name is that?"

"My, my," The strange man tittered softly to himself, staring at Zangetsu as if Ichigo weren't even there, something which only unnerved the boy even more, because this guy wouldn't give him his sword back. "You're a lively one aren't you? It should be interesting to have in my class, hmm?"

**"Hmph." **Zangetsu grunted, but this time with a hint of amusement. **"You haven't changed any, I see?"**

"Eeeeeeh?" Ichigo scowled, crossing his arms in the air, facing away, none too pleased with the abrupt announcement that he actually had to learn useless stuff like history, math and the like, in addition to the basic skills all soul reapers possesed. "Nuh-uh! I don't wanna go to a school like that! Especially if a screwball like you teaches there!"

"Ooooooh?" The teacher tilted his head slightly the left, as if he were confused.A strange gleam shone in the eyes behind the mask, leaving Ichigo with the distinct feeling that he was in a load of trouble. "Are you _suuuuure_ about that, Ichigo-kun?"

Shaking it off as nothing, the boy stuck out his tongue in defiance, unaware of the fact that Shinigami-sama had slowly begun to raise his right hand, the fingers tightening into a solid edge."Bleh! A course I'm-

Without mercy, the hand descended rapidly.

"SHINIGAMI CHOP!"

"Gah!" Ichigo yelped, pain exploding in his skull with such force that he actually fell back on his ass, wondering what had just happened. He soon found the source of his pain, for the teacher now pulled an arm back into his robes, leaving Ichigo to rub his sore and bruised cranium, trying to blot out the stars spraying across his vision from the direct chop to his nogin.

"OW! What the hey?! Why diddya hit me?!"

"Oh?" Shinigami tossed Zangetsu back to the unwitting student, raised his hand again, the circular eyes in his mask slightly narrowing, whether it was in amusement or ire, he couldn't tell, what with that ridiculous goofy voice and the mask hiding his face. "Are you saying you'd like to see that move again, Ichigo-kun?"

"N-No!" The student sputtered, waving his hands frantically as he tried to put some distance between him and this nutjob. "I-I get it! I'm good! I'll go to class! You don't need to show me that move again! See ya!"

Without another word, he sprinted up the steps and in the door, leaving a vapor trail in his wake. Shinigami stared after him, until he could no longer see the boy in his vision.

_'Hmm...he's energetic, this one..._

--

He was late.

Very late.

"Alright everyone, that enough explanation, now line up for kido practice! We'll do this one by one, so do well!"

"Wait, what?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head as he snuck into the line, utterly and hopelessly lost, as thanks to the previous scuffle with that strange man, he'd been late to his very first class, and now, everyone was lining up for something, something he didn't even understand in the least. "What the heck is kido?"

"Well, Kido is one of the four basic Shinigami combat forms." Someone to the right of him spoke.

"Hmm?" Curious, he twisted his neck to see a petite looking girl, he could tell right away thanks to the red student robes she wore, who only came up to his chest, and had her hair back in pigtails. "You understand this stuff?"

"Mmhmm." The girl nodded."I...could explain it to you if you'd like."

"Please!" He whispered quietly. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"Okay." She took a deep breath to begin. "Kidō is the technique that Shinigami use to focus their Spiritual Energy into magic spells of various powers. These spells serve a wide variety of uses such as healing, defense, or combat."

"Spells?" Ichigo stared as the first line each raised a hand towards what looked like targets in the distance. Moments later, they declared Shakkaho, and several of the targets exploded in a small ball of crimson fire. "Wait, you mean like magic?"

"Yeah." She giggled at his perplexed look. "Its not that hard really. Each spell is graded on a scale from 1 to 99, the latter being the most powerful and the most difficult to perform. The scale is a measure of difficulty, and there can be multiple spells which share the same level. To use Kidō, you have to recite the specific incantation for the spell, which is often long and requires a few seconds to speak."

She now turned her inquisitive gaze upon him. "Understand so far?"

"O-kaaaaay." He didn't get the whole chanting part, but at least this made sense.

Sorta.

"This weakness can be negated by Shinigami capable of using _Eishohaki-_

_"Ei-wha?" _Ichigo shook his head again. "How do you even say that?"

"Ei-sho-kai." The girl said it slowly, and waited until he had it. "It's using Kidō without a spirit chant. While it decreases the time needed to release the Kidō, it drastically weakens the spell."

"So wait, why would you wanna weaken the spell?"

"Well, if an enemy was after you, you'd need to use it quickly, right?"

"Nah," Ichigo grinned and shook his head. "I got Zangetsu. I don't need to worry about so pansy magic."

Her eyes widened slightly, as he patted the giant sword strapped to his back. A zanpaktou. It was large, nearly moreso than its wielder, a blade through and through, without even a hilt.

_'How does he already have one? And its so large..._

"Well," Composing her thoughts, she realized now was not the time to stare at his sword, but to help him, because he'd fail if he didn't get this right the first time. "What would happen if you didn't have the time to use it, or if it was stolen?"

"..." Realizing he couldn't admit that aloud, Ichigo glowered quietly, but nodded for her to continue, which she did in earnest.

"While anyone well versed in Kidō can use it without the chant, if you're not a skilled practitioner, the spell could actually prove fatal. The most skilled experts, captains', are capable of using this technique to amazing effect."

"Alright, alright." He waved her on, growing steadily impatient as it was nearly his turn. "Just hurry up!"

"The power of a spell relies on the power of the user, as even a low-level spell can be utterly devastating when utilized by someone like a captain.

"So....they're types then?"

"Mmm." She nodded once more, and, recognizing that he was next in line, hastily rattled them off:

**"Bakudō** (Binding spells): defensive spells which block or repel attacks or freezes enemies in place. **Hadō** (Destructive spells): refer to offensive spells which harm an enemy or cause damage.**Healing spells**: Well, they don't have names, numbers, or incantations to cast, they just heal the target."

"Okay, so what else is there-

"Ichigo Kurosaki!" He stiffened, turning towards the instructor, who beckoned him to the line. "You're up!"

Gulping, Ichigo walked up the steps that led to the line, and vaguely recalled something about having to push his spirit energy into his fist. There, the target lay directly before him, and now the instructor gave him the green.

"Shakkaho!" He barked, pushing as much force into the word as he could, scrunching his eyes tightly shut, whilst desperately trying to push as much energy into his hand as humanly possible.

KA-RUNCH!

The recoil of the blast _threw_ him off the stand, and into the lap of the girl who'd just helped him, which in effect, bowled them both over, end over end, until they'd finally come to a stop, tangled up in each other. "Eep!" She squeaked, and his eyes shot open, a crimson blush lighting his entire face.

_'Oi!'_

Mumbling a bashful apology, Ichigo quickly scrambled back up to see his handiwork. Which wasn't easy at first for black smoke stung at his retina's, blinding him, until a gust of wind blew all that smoke away. Everyone gasped, unable to believe their eyes. Now, all that remained of the target, and the block of wood that it had been standing upon.

Was a small crater, blackened to the point where no grass would ever grow again. He couldn't see a single ashen trace of his bullseye, and he really, really, hoped that was a good thing.

Sheepishly, Ichigo rubbed his burning hands, and turned to the proctor, who, along with all the other students, were staring at him in dumbfounded, slackjawed amazement.

"Well?" He finally managed.

"P-Pass." The man muttered, "Now take your seat." Ichigo sat back down, his face still burning, whether from the strain of using that much reaitsu, or from accidentally tackling the girl, he didn't know, though it was probably the latter.

"Hinamori Momo!" Ichigo only briefly glanced to his side, as the girl who'd helped him before, now took her place upon the soot covered stand, coughing from the still fading smoke.

"Shakkaho!" She declared, and her bullseye shattered neatly down the middle. There was no massive fiery explosion, just a neat, simple pop as her spell fizzled out once it was done.

Everyone clapped for _her_, he noted sadly.

--

Next up was combat class. Finally, something he knew how to do!

"Yatta!" Ichigo grinned, standing over his latest competitior. "I win again!"

The hour long combat class was absurdly easy. He'd picked up on the basics, and now...

"Eh?" The teacher was clearly both surprised, _and_ left in shambles, when Ichigo beat the tar out their best four year student, relentlessly pounding the senior until he couldn't hold his sword, and was practically left begging for mercy.

Granted, the freshman had already gained a zanpaktou before coming here, so he was above average to begin with, but even so, he'd absorbed the techniques of zanjutsu and basic swordplay at a ridiculously high rate, voraciously consuming every bit of knowledge that was sent his way.

The boy was a natural.

"Oi! Oi, Hisagi-sensei." The proctor now found himself staring down the edge of Ichigo's wooden sword, where eager, determined amber eyes met his own startled slate grey. "I wanna fight _you_ now."

"Well...Tugging at his collar, the Shuuhei gulped nervously, beginning to regret being the substitute teacher for this class, and now scrambling to make an excuse for his negligence. "I'd love too, but I forgot to...I forgot to bring an extra sword." The other proctor had the tar beaten outta him, and was currently recovering in the barracks, so obviously, they needed a sub, a position he gladly took for the sake of extra credit.

"Nah, there's an extra!" Ichig declared with a cheery grin, tossing him one of the many wooden training swords that lay scattered around the room. "So c'mon senpai! Let's go already!"

_'Oh dear kami!'_

Hisagi paled, cursing his luck.

If only he'd known that the rookie prodigy was in this class, he might've given the roster a more thorough look, rather than just glancing it over on his way to class this morning. And now, the same little devil who'd put _his_ senpai in the hospital, wanted to go a round with _him?_

"Alright," Forcing his arms to stop trembling, Hisagi steeled himself for the worst, and tried to assess the situation to his advantages, which, aside from him being several inches taller than Kurosaki, didn't amount to much.

"Come!"

--

_(One hour later)_

"Hehe," Ichigo grinned, crossing both arms behind his head as they made their way down the halls, carefully navigating through the flow of traffic that often came with lunch. "You shoulda seen it Rukia! He was all like "Ya!" but then I was like "Hiya!" and BAM!" With a sharp popping sound, he clapped his hands together, as if this simple motion, compared to all the exagerated hand gestures he'd made before, summed up his sparring session with Hisagi-sensei.

"Down he went!" With a laugh, Ichigo turned to Abarai, just to see what his rival thought of that. He was met with a low growl, something that only made Ichigo grin again and rib the redhead in the side, eliciting a pained hiss from his fellow student.

Noting the ragged state of his hakama, Ichigo could not help but take the verbal opening Renji had left him. "Aw, whatsamatter Renji? Did your kido blow up in your face again?"

"Punk." Renji glowered, looking away to wipe another smudge of dirt off his sleeve, a small testament to the failed lesson at using soul reaper magic today. "You know I suck at this magic crap just as much as you do!"

There was no way Ichigo was going to take that insult lying down."Oh yeah?!" He snarled, balling one hand into a fist around the pommel of Zangetsu's clothed hilt, "Well, at least my spells work nine times outta ten! _Yours_ fail half the time, idiot!"

"Shut up!" Renji snapped back. "Just because you got your zanpaktou first, doesn't mean you're better than me!"

"Oh, Ichigo countered with excess sarcasm, "That's right, I forgot how awesome you were with a katana!"

"Strawberry!" Renji snarled.

"Pineapple head!" Ichigo shot back.

"Both of you, quit it!" Rukia shrieked suddenly, startling them as they came to the archway leading outside. "It's only our first week here, and you're already starting trouble! So zip it!"

At this, the duo fell silent, sulking.

_'Well...he started it.'_

"Ichigo!" The group looked about as someone called for him. "Over here!" Recognizing the voice immediately, Kurosaki saw Hinamori sitting off to the left, with several other students. "Come sit with us!"

"Made some friends, eh?" Now it was Renji's turn to rib Ichigo, who blushed at it "Hey, and she's pretty cute to-oof!" Abarai Renji found himself silenced as Ichigo buried his elbow within the face of his tattooed friend. "Forget this." Ichigo muttered, shoving past Renji, and his newly aqcuired nosebleed. "I'm gonna go sit with Kira and Momo. You wanna come, Rukia?"

"Sure." She shot Renji a fuming glare, then follow after Ichigo.

"So," She asked, as they weaved through the crowd of students. "When did you get that?"

"Oh, you mean this?" Once more, he patted Zangetsu appreciatively, grinning happily as he did so, but the grin fell away to confusion when he noticed Rukia's muddled expression. "Wha, you mean you don't have one, Rukia?"

"No." She shook her head. "Ichigo, look around."

He did so.

"So?"

"Baka." She leaned forward, tapped him lightly on the forehead with her pointer finger, frowning at the fact that she had to get on her tip-toes to do so now. When did he get so tall? "You're not even a soul reaper yet, and you already have a soul reaper's zanpaktou."

"So?" He shrugged, as they stepped around a table, with Hinamori and Izuru now well within sight. "

However, scarcely had he sat down with them, then a bone chillingly cold hand clamped down on his shoulder. Momo stiffened slightly, Rukia scooted away a bit, and Izuru could only stare.

"Ah, so you're Ichigo Kurosaki." Came an amused voice.

"Wha?!" He started violently at the sight of him, this new stranger who knew him.

He was a tall man with silver-gray hair and big, round glasses. Strange, was that a... large screw/bolt going through his head. He had stitches all over his body and clothing, as if he'd been sown together, like fabric. His most notable piece of clothing was a doctor's lab coat, worn over his stitched shihakusho.

"Who in the hell're you?!"

A small grin became a wide, demented one.

"Dr. Franken Stein, _your_ new teacher, of course."

**Next time: Hellish days of adolescence. Train and study until you drop, Ichigo!**


	3. The Hint of Madness

_**The Hint of Madness**_

_(Flashback)_

_"Special training? You mean I can't dissect this one?"_

_"No."_

_"Hmph." Stein scowled, biting the inside of his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, bringing a hand to his forehead in though, twisting the crank a few times to sharpen his focus. A long silence followed as Shinigami waited for Stein's answer._

_Finally, he let his hand fall to the table, unveiling a dark staid expression._

_"You're asking me to take this boy under my wing, aren't you?"_

_Shinigami-sama's frown couldn't possibly be seen behind his, but his tone darkened slightly. "Stein-kun, do you believe, do you really think you can afford to be that cold with him? He's just a boy."_

_Stein shook his head immediately, though with a sharp, frustrated sigh. "No, I don't think I can be my usual self at all, not with this one. But whatever the hell's going on here, I can't just sit by and do nothing. Besides," Stein said as he opened his eyes, revealing their stone grey resolve. "If this fails, it won't be a kid that I'm killing."_

_"Ah!" Shinigami gave a solemn nod, but his tone was noticeably lighter now. "That's the way. I knew I could count on you!"_

_"So, who am I training?" Stein asked, sitting back in his chair._

_Shinigami's stance became less rigid. "You'll know soon enough."_

_Stein rolled his eyes at the statement. "Oh, now you get snippy on me."_

_"Mah, mah, don't worry." Shingami said with his sing-song voice, "You'll know exactly who they are when we run them through the extra curricular analysis."_

_Stein cocked an eyebrow at the statement. "Extra curricular analysis?"_

_"Hoho!" Shinigami-sama chuckled aloud. "You'll see."_

_(End flasback)_

--

"You're...a teacher?" Ichigo stared at the man, a sense of dread filling him from top to bottom. This guy was creepy. Not mildly, stay away from me, kind of creepy, or you're weird, kind of creepy. No, this guy was the _insane_ kind of creepy. "You don't look like a teacher."

"What's wrong?" Dr. Stein didn't have that look about him anymore, but that didn't mean Ichigo had forgotten it either. At least that other weirdo, that shinigami guy, who was kinda funny, which made him somewhat tolerable, but this guy....

This guy was batshit crazy!

"Lets go." Stein pulled on his shoulder again, sharply yanking Ichigo off his seat next to Rukia and Hinamori. "You can have lunch with your girlfriends' later."

Ichigo turned beet red, the same could be said for Momo and Rukia. Everyone was staring now, and he knew better than to make a scene but still, the verbal jab could not go unanswered.

"They're not my girlfriends!"

"Oh, good." Stein continued to drag him away, pulling his unwilling captive towards one of the nearby classrooms, accessible via a door in the wall of the courtyard wall. "Then you won't mind if I drag you away from them then?"

--

_(Ten minutes later)_

It was about noon when the building exploded. Most of the students in the nearby school, weren't really expecting it, and in a reaction, there was panic. Students rushed to the nearby window, gasping and shouting. But they didn't see anything that looked to have caused the nearby building to blow up.

Ichigo however, was no normal student, and he was scared shitless. He gaped openly at the small rift that had been torn in the air, ripped apart by what looked like an ornate golden key.

"Well then," Stein began, coughing up smoke, pushing up the rim of his glasses with his free hand, and pocketing the unnatural splitting key with the other, "Shall we be off?"

Ichigo tried to take a step back, but found himself powerless to do so. "N-No w-wait a sec!" He felt drawn to the abyss, and before he knew it, and despite his fierece mental protests, he'd taken the three steps into the darkness.

His vision then began to fade, no matter how much he fought it. He wondered faintly, what would happen if he was to wake up again. Would Rukia be alright? What state would he be in if he _did_ manage to wake up? But sadly, darkness at away at his thoughts and with it, his consciousness....

--

"GAH!"

Ichigo's eyes opened in a flash as his heart raced. He sat up and took several deep breathes, his whole body aching terribly. He felt like someone had just drenched all his senses in icy water.

He took a moment before he looked around himself, a cool breeze hitting his skin. It was a bunch of streets and alleyways, and on closer inspection, a city. It had to be a city. He shook his head and shut his eyes, wishing that when he opened them again, he would be back in his own bed. But alas, nothing looked any different when he opened them again. He took one last deep breath and stood, needing to use a tree to balance against for support. Why did he feel so weak?

A shadow loomed over him, and before he could protest, Stein was there. "Come." Ichigo cried out in surprise when Stein yanked him by the arm, literally dragging his body off the tree with him. "I have two days to teach you what I know. Your homework starts _now_."

As he was pulled into the darkness, Ichigo realized something.

Stein didn't have him by the wrist anymore.

In fact, he wasn't even _there_.

"Hello?" He called to the darkness.

"First lesson...begin!"

"Wait, what?!"

However, all he found was a pair of empty steps, leading to one of the many houses that lined the street. No movement, but he could still hear a sound now, drawing closer. Ichigo did not lower his guard , quickly continuing the motion of his turn just in time to see something dark and ragged surging towards him.

He narrowly dodged the attacker, lunging to the side and landing in a combat roll. As Ichigo finished the roll he got a small glimpse of the ragged thing before it rushed him again. It was a deathly haggard figure that stood before him, clad in the tattered remains of a pair of trousers, a shirt and vest. A myriad of black chains hung limply from its thick grey-brown arms and legs. It was continuously shifting between a bipedal and quadrupedal gate as it lurched its way towards its adversary.

The discoloration of the body suggested that this was a zombie or at least something like one. Although, it didn't resemble a human in intelligence or physical tendencies so Ichigo couldn't be sure. However, it was clear that the thing at least intended to hurt him and that was enough to get Ichigo ready to fight

As such Ichigo was quite ready when the thing attacked once more. Handily dodging the possible zombie's second lunge with a quick jump to the side, Ichigo grasped his right forearm just under his elbow. He narrowed his gaze slightly, keeping a wary eye on his dark adversary, while focusing the energies of his spirit into his right hand.

"Shakkaho!" He declared loudly, this time daring to keep his eyes open. Immediately, he regretted doing so, and though the beast screeched in pain the huge swathe of red fire served as much to blind him as it did harm the zombie like creature.

Blinded, he staggered away from it, jerking Zangetsu out of its cloth just in time to keep the creature from biting its head off. But no sooner had the strange apparition bit the steel, then it did lurch away, howling in raw agony, almost as if it feared the weapon.

With that, Ichigo charged the beast, stepping into a weak turning horizontal swing. The thing barely managed to avoid the attack, leaping backwards whilst maintaining an upright posture.

Allowing the weight of his oversized blade to pull him, Ichigo continued his charge forward, spinning into another turning slice that followed the same direction of his last cut. The thing managed to avoid this attack as well, falling forward onto all fours and ducking under the attack. In almost the same motion, the thing launched itself up at Ichigo, its right arm reared back to hammer the orange haired boy

As this happened, Ichigo allowed his weapon's momentum to take him once more, moving with the curve of his slash to pivot out of the way of his adversary's attack. This lead into a spinning backhand bash with the back of the blade, catching the attacking beast squarely in the stomach. The thing hissed in anger and surprise as it was thrown to the ground, arms and legs scrambling to right itself even before it landed.

So Ichigo was unsurprised when it rebounded immediately after hitting the ground, rushing in at him on two legs, arms reared back to strike with all its might.

He ducked, raking Zangetsu across the monster's right pectoral, before being forced to roll away as its claws came down at him. Tucking out of the roll. Ichigo couldn't help but smile slightly as the beast screamed, then whirled on him, ready to renew its incessant attacks. It was slow and sluggish now, with that injury, and they weren't getting it anywhere.

_Weakling._

Soon found himself grinning madly, though he had no idea why. He just found it, the sight of the beast struggling to land a blow on him, funny, and he couldn't explain it at all.

With a gleeful cackle, Ichigo stepped into the beast's advance, jamming the hilt of his sword into the beast's stomach before it could make its next attack. Then, while it was stunned from the hilt to its gut, Ichigo continued the motion of his hilt strike, throwing his weight into an upward swing that cut the wretched thing and its chains in two.

The possible zombie made naught a cry as its two halves fell to the ground, its many chains hitting the ground with clanks of varying harmonics that hurt to hear. He watched it warily for a few seconds. Though he was no expert on zombies, Ichigo was fairly certain that the undead thing _was dead_.

As he looked on, the beast evaporated into mist, leaving a red, luminous sphere. Curious, he approached the radiant orb, wary that this might be some last ditch trick by the monster.

Nothing, it just hovered there.

_Take it._

Slowly, tentatively, he reached out to grasp it. A painful jolt shot through his skin, and as he looked on the orb passed through his hand, in turn sucked into Zangetsu, its surface rippling like water, before becoming still once more.

Zangetsu felt stronger in his hands now, lighter, if that were at all possible. He didn't understand it, but apparently, defeating that thing had made his weapon just a little bit stronger.

He jammed the sword into the ground and laughed again, triumphant.

"HA! Did you see that Stein?! Did ya?!"

"I did."

Despite his recent win, Ichigo jumped as the meister stepped out of the shadows. The twisted grin was gone, replaced by a more humane, actually normal smile.

"I'm impressed, and I don't say that often." The doctor replied simply, stepping ahead of him, leaving the youngster to follow, lest he be left behind yet again."Now that I've seen your ability, let's hope you don't dissapoint me. Ever."

The remaining walk to Shibusen was fairly uneventful, as Ichigo did his best to be cordial to everyone who said hello, and got used to his current persona as one of Shibusen's new students. He soon found that the populace quite willing to oblige when it came to directions.

Still, Ichigo frowned as he wandered the moonlit streets of this place, Death City, as Stein called it idly taking in the stone masonry of the market district as he made his way towards this school. The cool breeze of the desert night wafted through the cramped throughways and streets, rustling various banners and hanging implements that had been left behind after the stores had closed. The sound of the banners billowing in the wind underscored the chimes of the more metallic implements dancing in night air, giving a lonely meditative anticipation to the moon born shadows of this night.

When at last they arrived, he knew it right away, just by staring up the steps to the meisters' school, Ichigo marveled at the sight that stood before him. This _Shibusen_ school, built like some kind of skull-ridden multilevel cake, it was both childish and disturbing at the same time. On closer inspection, it appeared that the trappings of a cake were more of a shell than an extension of the building they adorned, a more castle-like architecture bristling underneath its youth inspired outer shell.

"Is this...

Stein pushed his wide glasses up once more.

"Yes. This is Shibusen." Again Stein marched forward, forcing Ichigo to pursue. "I hope you brought a change of clothes. You'll be spending the next two days, and every other weekend here."

Ichigo thought of the creature he'd killed, and remembered the pride he'd felt when Stein had congratulated him. Kicking ass in Soul reaper school on weekdays, Coming here on weekends, getting to fight things like that, being congratulated...

He grinned, and followed the meister inside.

_"Oh yeah, I could get used to this."_

**_Next time: Class?! What the hell kinda class is this?!_**


	4. A New Kishin?

**Please! Review please! Reviews are important to me, and my constant inspiration to keep writing this fic! I only JUST started watching Soul Eater the other day, and now, I'm gonna need to read the manga, mainly cuz I was NOT happy with the way the Anime ended things. The pairing is still sorta up there, as Ichigo's gonna be interacting with alot of characters, so vote!**

**_A New Kishin?_**

--

Those ruminations would have to wait, however, as Ichigo caught sight of none other than Shinigami-sama himself waiting out in front of the school, a serious expression apparent on his visage.

He raised a hand as if he were preparing another Shinigami Chop, and Ichigo, well aware of how much those 'chops' hurt, skittered back twelve steps, pausing only when he saw that Shinigami had in fact extended it in greeting.

Stein arched an eyebrow, exchanged a glance with Shinigami-sama, and shrugged.

"You look frazzled, Ichigo-kun."

Ichigo gave the masked headmaster a slightly irritated glare in return. "What makes you say that?"

"Rings under your eyes," Shinigami noted gleefully. "Nope, never a good sign."

"Didn't sleep well." Ichigo replied, glaring meaningfully at Stein, the irritation slowly seeping out of his expression when the good doctor made no such aforementioned retort. Therefore, Ichigo wisely refrained from mentioning the fact that they'd gotten lost on the way to the school. No need for any more indignities this morning.

"Am I late?" He asked warily, still on guard, for fear of another head bashing.

"Yes," Sid replied with a small smile, ushering the boy inside,"but you at least got here before the other students did. "Now, get to class."

--

_(Ten minutes later)_

She was engrossed in the data, that she almost didn't notice the commotion outside her office as an orange haired boy barreled past the display window. Almost. It was the loud cry of "Dammit, stop running away!" _that_ caught her attention.

She looked on silently, wondering who he was chasing.

As if to answer this very question, the orange-haired teenager who'd rushed past the window before burst into her office. His irritated ice blue glare surveyed every inch of the room with an unmistakable air of malice narrowing to furious slits, then widening slightly, as he found himself in the nurses ward.

"Damnit!" He snarled, looking this way and that. "Where the hell did that friggin cat go?!"

Yes, his map had been stolen by a cat. He still couldn't believe himself, and he sure as hell didn't understand it, but he didn't have the liberty of denying the occurrence of such an event either.

Unfortunately, he was lost once once more.

Medusa blinked once, then twice, as he did not seem to notice her, not yet, at least. But she could feel it, right away, that aura of malcontent brewing dangerously about him, seeking some sort of outlet to lash out upon.

She allowed herself a small, private smile.

_'Interesting. So this is the ace student Shinigami has his sights set on?' _The boy was veritably _humming_ with power, too much for him to contain individually, which was probably the reason he was leaking spirit energy even now, thanks to his frustration. _'He's a wild one.'_

If this body had proper training, the proper..._guidance,_ then the possibilities were endless. With one glance, she could see it all, every aspect of his soul. He had potential, so much _potential_, wells of untapped anger and hatred deep down in his heart, locked away for fear of what they might become if released.

He had a reason for it, she could see, but the explanation itself remained mired in the ever conflicting wavelength he and his massive sword radiated randomly.

Still...

She'd come here for one reason, and one reason only, a reason that would involve a great deal of patience and fortitude, but now, now the sudden arrival of this new student made her task somewhat...interesting.

Very interesting.

"Excuse me, are you lost?"

"Eh?" He blinked in surprise, just now noticing her.

"Y-Yeah." He managed at last, trying to control the fierce red flush in his cheeks, mixed both of anger and embarassment. "You won't believe this, but I lost my map. Do you know where Spirit-sama's class is?"

"Of course." The nurse smiled kindly, the warm smile perfectly masking her inner thoughts. "Its right there down the hall, on your first left. Don't worry, you can't miss it."

"Th-Thanks!" He gave a quick bow in grattitude, then sped back out the door, to retrace his steps,.

Leaving her to muse on this lattest development....

--

Ichigo gave an irritated sigh as burst through the door, only to realize everyone was staring at him, either because of his tardiness, his huge weapon, his hair, hell, maybe it was all three.

"Man, this sucks."

Fuming, Ichigo picked the first empty spot he could find, and plopped down into the nearest seat. He'd found his way here thanks to the nurse, but for some reason, the teacher hadn't shown yet. A quick scan of the room, indicated that though most of the students were around his age, he, at the age of fourteen, was probably the oldest student in the room.

Immediately, someone yelled at him, the moment he sat down.

"Hey! That's my seat, buddy!"

Ichigo tilted his head to the left to find the _someone _who'd yelled at him at interrupted his peace of mind.

The boy's blue hair was styled to look like a star. His eyes, green, were glaring right at him. In a way, his outfit resembled that of a modern ninja's, but with this guy's mouth, there was just no way it was possible.

This guy was the exact opposite of stealth.

That star tattoo on his shoulder, that was weird too.

"Eh?" Ichigo sized the boy up once more, and frowned. "You wanna say that again, punk?"

"That's Black Star to you!" The youth declared angrily.

Hmm, Ichigo mused silently, now that actually made _sense_, considering the kid's obvious fixation with stars'. However, he wanted to get through his first day here without incident, so...

"Thanks, but did I ask for your name?" Ichigo didn't so much as give the boy another glance now. "No. I didn't ask for your name, so shut up, sit down, and _be quiet. _You're too damn noisy." This guy wasn't worth his time, besides, he didn't come here to fight, he came here to get stronger, and he had to be strong, no matter the cost.

This brat...was nothing to him.

"Why...you...!!"

Rather, he was nothing in Ichigo's eyes, until Black Star threw the first punch.

Ichigo, who hadn't even seen Black Star move, let alone attack, cried out in surprise, his face crumpling inward from the blow, the impact launching him head over heels across and empty row, and into the nearby aisle, where he tumbled down the stairs before crashing into the unoccupied desk meant for the as of yet still absent teacher.

As he shook his head to clear it, Ichigo felt, the noticed, the blood dripping on his shirt, eerily mixed with the triumphant laughter of his victorious attacker. "There! That'll teach you to take my seat, you bastard!"

Fury surged in Kurosaki's veins, wiping away the reminder that he was to stay out of trouble.

"Teme!"

That little punk! He'd given him a bloody nose! Whipping the bloody hand off upon his shirt, Ichigo clenched that same hand into a tight fist, then leveled his index finger at Black Star.

"Hado#4: Byakurai." Ichigo hissed, gathering azure light in the tip of the sole digit, only to be released moments later. Black Star's laughter faded away as the bolt of white lightning scorched across his chin, opening a thin slit.

The boy swore, now rushing at Ichigo, wielding some sort of short knife.

With a snarl, Ichigo replied in kind, ripping Zangetsu out of its cloth, using its giant frame as a shield against the impending attack. Black Star clearly hadn't been expecting to face such a large weapon, for his eyes widened slightly, and his pace slowed. Sensing hesitation in his opponent, Ichigo retaliated, clearly intending to ram the blunt edge into the visage of the obnoxious would-be meister.

"Cut it out, both of you!"

"Wha-

Before they could protest further, dull whump silenced them both, and the two boys' abruptly found themselves dragged apart with such violence, that both were not only flung across the room, but through the wall as well.

A girl, he realized, as the smoke began to clear. A girl had just picked him up and thrown him like a ragdoll. Still wedged in between the rubble, Ichigo glared up at her, torn between asking her name, and punching her.

Finally, at the risk of further injury, Ichigo settled for the more civil approach and took her hand.

"Who're you?" He asked, rubbing his head. "Most girls don't hit like that." That attack had been comparable to a Shinigami chop, and that was definitely saying something, what with this girl's slim stature and what-not.

"Maka Albarn." The blond replied simply, helping him to his feet. "And I, _don't_appreciate what you just did." Without another word, she roughly shoved Ichigo back towards the aisle, where another boy, this one with white hair, red eyes and a somewhat voracious grin, waited.

"Oh by the way, that's Soul." She added, heading to the opposite hole she'd created. "He's a friend of mine."

"S'up newbie." The boy grinned, raising a hand in greeting as Ichigo approached, "Didn't think you'd get into it with Black Star on your first day, but," He now turned his attention to the opposite wall, where Maka was roughly hoisting the shadow meister out of the rubble, and at the same time, shaking the boy fiercely.

The scythe boy chuckled at the sight.

"Cool. I woulda put my money on ya that time."

"Is that a good thing?" Ichigo found himself smirking, despite his best efforts to stay angry at the situation. This guy had the same rough look about him, much like Renji, and already, he felt a faint bond with this stranger. Likewise for Soul, he found this new kid similar to Black Star and himself, being in the fact that he was very upfront with how he felt about things, and that he wasn't afraid to pick a fight in class.

Yup, he was cut from the same clothe alright.

Therefore, Soul couldn't hide his grin either.

"Heh, you're alright, for a newbie."

Maka stalked back to them now, dragging a battered Black Star behind her. The two looked on as she jabbed a finger at a nearby seat and told him to plant it, something Star did only reluctantly under threat of extreme agony, much to Ichigo's glee.

"Well, Maka already told you, but I'll say it again." The boy extended his hand in greeting then, and Ichigo turned to shake, with the same toothy grin as the white haired scythe. "The name's Soul. Soul Eater Evans. But just call me Soul, alright, newbie?"

Ichigo laughed lightly, amused by his attitude.

"Oi, my name isn't 'newbie'. Its Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki."

"So what's with the sword?" Soul now jerked a thumb towards Zangetsu, which Ichigo had only recently strapped to his back once more, and remained eerily silent every since his arrival here. "That your weapon or something? Why's he still like that? He shy or somethin'?"

"Sorta." Ichigo patted the hilt of his sword. "Zangetsu doesn't talk much."

"Huh." Soul stared at the massive cleaver for a moment more, trying to figure out just why this sword made him so uneasy. "Yeah, now that ya mention it, he looks like the strong silent type...." Weird. Unlike most weapons, when Soul looked at this one, he didn't feel any concioussness. No, as he gazed into the faint glimmer of steel, visible through the clothed wrap,, it felt like he was staring into a neverending bottomless pit, filled with the screams of the damned...

"!!"

_'What...What the hell kinda weapon is this? It's not normal, that's for sure-_

"Well then, Soul, should we ask him if he's interested?"

"Eh?" Jerked away from his reverie, Soul turned towards Maka, who had just spoken, and was now standing next and across from them. Gone was the fierce scowl from before, and now, she wore a rather inquisitive expression. He knew that look all too well.

"Well, we need an extra person for the assignment, so...

"Maka, what're you thinking?"

She trailed off, staring at Ichigo pointedly, as if to answer.

"Oi!" This from Black Star, who of course, was just too aggravated to pass this opportunity up. He already didn't like this new know-it-all guy who thought he was better than everybody else, and now she was suggesting that?! "Are you serious?! We don't even know him!"

"Well?" Maka would not be deterred.

"Me?" Ichigo blinked, slightly confused at the abrupt change of heart. "Wait, what's the assignment?"

Soul grinned mischievously, his thoughts of unease momentarily wiped away.

"We're going zombie hunting." Maka cringed slightly as Soul eerily recounted the tale, but both boys' paid her no heed as Soul continued his creepy story."They say one of the teacher's got turned into a zombie, and he's been eating students that wander aroud past their curfew! So we're gonna find out who did it to em! Whaddya say?"

_**Next time: Graveyard shift! Meister vs. zombie!**_


	5. Graveyard Shift

**Please! Review please! Reviews are important to me, and my constant inspiration to keep writing this fic! Well, we'll finally get to see some more combat scenes again, but I've decided to put my own little twist on things. Enjoy.**

**_Graveyard Shift_**

As everyone started on their way, a cat watched with thinly veiled interest, not even bothering to hide itself as the ragtag group passed through the gates and into town.

"Nyah?" it murmured in a female voice, tilting its head slightly to the right, "Blair's curious."

_(Hook Cemetery)_

"Heeeeey! Zombie dude! Getcher ass out here!"

"So...

"Is this Sid's grave?" Black Star gave the headstone a kick." You think he's still around here? He's already moving around, isn't he?"

"Yeah...but I guess it's his grave for now." Tsubaki shrugged.

"Eeeeeh?" Ichigo glared at Soul. "You mean he might not even _be_ here?"

Soul shrugged, and gave the grave another tap.

"Huh. Looks like a regular gravestone to me."

"I always thought I was such a great scythe tech like my mother...This came from Maka, who lay in a corner curled against a tree, clearly depressed by the grim ultimatum given to them by Shinigami-sama.."How did this happen? I'm a d-d-dropout...

"What's got her down?" Black Star scratched the back of his head, confused, and blissfully unaware of the depression his fell meister had willingly deposited herself into. "She's been like that ever since we got here."

"Black Star...Aren't you even a little worried? At all...?"

"Nah," The meister flicked her a thumbs up. "We'll ace this, I'm sure of it!"

Tsubaki sweatdropped at this, and Ichigo, who'd been silent ever since he realized their quarry might not even be here, briefly broke his pacing to glance at Maka, whilst Soul gave Sid's grave a fierce kick that toppled the headstone clear over.

"You're gonna get me expelled, zombie!" Soul continued to stamp on the grave, obviously hoping to draw Sid out with his constant cries of: "Get out here! I never listened to you in any of your classes anyway! Gyahahaha!" And the like.

"Crazy." Ichigo shook his head at Soul's eratic behavior, waited a moment longer, then finally decided to do something about Maka's miserable ramblings, before that ex-teacher _did _show his ugly face.

He walked over to Maka and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Maka."

Maka continued to sulk.

"Oiiiii." He poked her again. "Maka. Snap outta it."

His efforts were rewarded with a muffled: "Go away."

"Nice try." Left with no other choice, Ichigo roughly yanked one of her ponytails.

Annoyed, she batted his hand away, but other than that, made to no move to stir. Seeing his efforts as futile, Ichigo turned his back on her and shuffled towards the others, boredom evident upon his face.

_'Wait..._

And suddenly whirled around to smack her on the head with the flat, blunt of his blade. The reaction was instantaneous, as Maka gave a surprised shriek and leapt to her feet.

"Teme!" She snarled, rubbing the expanding welt that poked through her sandy blond hair. "What the hell was that for?!"

"To snap you out of it." Ichigo dusted off his hands, and sheathed Zangetsu, ignoring the fuming technician that tried to 'Maka Chop' him, only to realize she didn't have her patented, extra thick, extra hard cover book handy.

"There, problem solved." Ichigo declared proudly, strutting back towards Tsubaki and Soul with a valiant swagger in his step. "Tch." Soul snickered quietly to himself, Tsubaki sweatdropped silently, and Black Star couldn't hide his grin.

But their amusement was short lived, broken by a piercing scream.

"Waugh!" Maka cried, and everyone whirled, just in time to see a hand burst forth from the ground, then an arm, then a head, until the entire zombie, body and all, emerged from the earth, hoisting Maka high overhead.

The assailant was as unnatural as he was large. His forearms, lined with dark, swirling tattoo's, was in sharp contrast to his pale blue skin, and white, irisless eyes. Not to mention the through and through hole in his forehead, and there was only one logical conclusion.

This had to be the guy.

"Maka!" Soul cried, eyes widening in anger, but he hadn't started to move yet.

"Are you scared?" The zombie inquired, although with the way she was trembling, Maka was obviously terrified. Her eyes had

"You're scared." The zombie rumbled in affirmation, lashing out with a sharpened stone.

"!!"

_Ichigo!_

"Rhaaagh!" Ichigo didn't think, he just _moved_, slashing at the ground with such force that the soil itself split from both the blow, and the swathe of azure flame that carved along with it, flowing from his arm, into the sword, and into the soil.

As such, when wall of blue fire slammed into the zombie, launching him into the nearest tree, Sid had no idea what had hit him, and therefore, immediately dropped his hostage.

"Soul!" Ichigo whipped his head around, but the death scythe, already in mid-transformation had flung himself towards Maka, his pole arcing end over end as he went.

Spinning out of her fall, Maka reached up to seize her weapon, the scythe landing in her palms with an audible pop. The fear in her eyes evaporated, replaced by gratitude.

"Thanks for the rescue."

"Sure!"

"No problem." Ichigo seconded, stalking forward at the zombie, who in turn seized his very own headstone, clearly intending to use it was a weapon in this battle.

"Ngh!" The undead man began hoisting the grave stone out by the cross.

"Is that...Sid-Sensei?" Black Star stared at him disbelievingly.

"Gotta be." Soul seconded angrily.

"Great. We just have to kill him, right?" Ichigo leveled Zangetsu at the zombie, grinning as its polished edge unfurled from the cloth. "Alright then, this oughta be a piece of-

WHAM!

Faster than expected, Sid swung the cross of his headstone, clipping Ichigo hard across the temple. Stunned, the boy could only stagger back, and try to defend as the zombie brought his gravestone down once more.

"Living End!"

Ichigo didn't have time to dodge, his eyes widening as the grave came down, and the explosion consumed him.

"Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki. Good morning, good afternoon, good night. It's been quite awhile." With the greatest of ease, Sid shouldered the crossed tombstone, weilding it as if weighed little more than a pebble. "I never was one to miss a greeting."

"OI! Zombie bastard!" As if to confirm this thought, Ichigo burst out of the rubble, swinging Zangetsu furiously to clear himself a path from the thick debris. "What the hell was that?!" Indignant, the reaper jabbed a thumb towards his chest. "You forgot about me!"

"Hmm?" Sid turned his gaze towards the brash student, slightly surprised that he was still alive after an attack like that. "And who are you?"

"Ichigo! Ichigo Kurosaki!"

Sid stiffened a bit.

"Hmm? Kurosaki, you say?"

"Why?" Maka asked suddenly. "Sid-sensei?!"

"Ding-Die-Bing-Bong." The zombie tittered to himself in a sing-song voice. "Being a zombie is great! There are all sorts of things that I can do now!" With a laugh, he began to swing his tombstone, brandishing it was if it were a sword. "Class has started, I always was the type to start class right at the bell."

"This is great! I haven't been able to show off in a while!" Ichigo jerked his head to the right as Tsubaki transformed into what could only be described as a chain scythe, a weapon Black Star now brandished fearlessly. "Check out _my _crazy training attitude!"

"Bring it!" Soul declared, halfway emerging from his scythe form. "It's not like we're scared of you anyway!"

"Don't waste your effort." Sid shook his head, the grin never once fading from his palid face. "You're all going to die anyway." The students stiffened slightly at this, but made no move to interrupt their former teacher as he droned on and on about how great it was to be dead. "If you become a zombie, the pressure of "death" vanishes! You can escape the fear and-

"No!" Maka shook her head violently. "You were...You were never the type of person who would say something like that!"

Sid grinned even further, exposing his surprisingly clean teeth.

"You'll learn this way!"

For a zombie carrying a heavy tombstone, Sid proved himself to be deceptively fast, as in a single bound, he'd crossed the distance seperating him from the students, and swiped at Maka. "Die for awhile!"

"!!"

Again, she froze.

"You moron!" Soul snapped at her, "What're you doing, spacing out?! He's not our teacher anymore!"

"Baka."

By some miracle, Sid stopped, thanks in part to Black Star.

But why hadn't he moved?

Peeking over his shoulder, Maka could see why he hadn't just tossed them away. There, blocking the attack from the front, Black Star had clearly put all his weight into absorbing the brunt of the blow, though the strain clearly showed, but behind the zombie, was Ichigo, the cloth wrap of his hilt bound tightly around the zombies waist and legs.

"Ha!" Ichigo grinned, tightening his grip on the wrappings, attempting to reel Sidin. "Gotcha!"

"I'm getting impatient!" Sid's perpetual smile faded, replaced by a gravelly snarl.

"Eh-WHOA?!"

"I have always been that way!"

With a mighty heave, Sid broke the block, brought his tombstone back, and flung them, Maka and Black Star, _both_ of them into open air with but a single strike.

"Maka! Star!" Distracted, Ichigo momentarily lost his grip as he watched his comrades sail into the air. Only when he was abruptly yanked forward, did the boy realize his mistake.

"Were are you looking, gaki?!" Ichigo gasped in surprise, but it was already far too late to compensate for his lack of balance. Jerking his right arm around, Sid had whirled, and grabbed Ichigo's cloth in _both_ hands, holding the boy in place. Now, he grinned, blasting the boy with his pungent breath, probably a result of spending so much time underground."You haven't forgotten about me, have you?!"

_'Blech, not with that bad breath I won't!'_

"Shit!" The orange haired student had just enough time to cry out, swearing in surprise, then the teacher's spin tossed him up as well, with the added benefit of unbinding the clothen restraints. The trio hung in the air for a moment longer, then gravity took hold and slammed each student hard into the cold, dead soil of the cemetery, one atop another.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Black Star groaned, rubbing his skull, then rolling off the top of the pile. "Damnit, he's freakishly strong!"

"Give up already!" Sid crowed with his perpetual grin. "You one star technicians' can't beat me!"

"Oh yeah?!" Soul apparently thought otherwise, as he popped out of the scythe blade to indignantly flip their ex-teacher off with both hands, then help Maka off the pile. "Zombie or not, if I eat your soul, its all over, teach!"

"Besides," Ichigo spat up a glob of blood, picked himself up, and found his footing again, trying his best to shrug off being buried. "It's three against one. You really wanna try taking on all three of us?"

"Don't." Maka warned, sweeping Soul, back in scythe form once more, around to regain her balance. "He's strong. When Sid-sensei was alive, he was one of the highest rank technicians. A three star meister."

"So?" Ichigo cracked his neck casually, earning an amused laugh from Black Star. "I still say we can take him."

"Finally, something we agree on!"

Sid stared at them for a moment, then laughed, a harsh, grating sound that clawed at their ears. "Ding-Die-Bing-Bong, now then, let's begin the second lesson!" Retrieving his gravestone, the zombie armed himself once more. "When this lesson ends, you'll be dead too!"

The boys didn't answer, instead they simply ran full tilt at Sid.

For a moment, Maka watched them go, telling herself how stupid they were for just charging in like this. Then she swore, decided that she was an idiot too, took a deep breath and ran after them.

And swore again as Sid trounced them both with another one of his back to back Living Ends', the twin explosions catapaulting her teammates through the cemetery. From the way they'd crashed into gravestone after gravestone, they wouldn't be getting back up for a bit.

"Damnit, this term is getting worse by the minute."

--

Maka staggered back, her arms numb from the blow, just before another knocked her back on her butt. She'd hoped Ichigo and Black Star would recover eventually, but after five minutes, this did not seem to be the case, and she wasn't faring well on her own.

"Ding-Die-Bing-Bong." Sid grinned, eyeing her evilly. "Class is over. Ready to die?"

"Uuuuugh, just shut _UP!"_

A wave of blue light erupted into the night, effectively seperating them, as the asure flame passed through, splitting the ground with its raw, unrestrained power.

"Teme," Ichigo, bleeding heavily from a concussion, staggered drunkenly out of the smoke, Zangetsu shouldered and still just as ready for a fight as its owner was. "I've had just about enough of you!"

"Yeah, and your blabbering...Black Star picked himself up, and though he limped slightly, he too still had plenty of fight left in him, evident by the way he and Ichigo still stood tall, despite their wounds. "Is really starting to piss me off, asshole!"

"Three stars, one star...it doesn't matter to me!"

They continued to zigzag through the chains, never staying still for too long, and only reappearing at the last second. Sid doubled over as two booted feet slammed directly into his solar plexus.

"Tsubaki! Shuriken!"

_'Hai!'_

Sid recovered, and leapt over the projectile, over both of them, as his leap gained speed. His momentum carried him high into the air, until he'd found his target, one unaware Maka Albarn.

"Maka! Jump!"

"I'll crush you! LIVING END!"

As the explosive cross rose into the air, Ichigo grit his teeth in frustration.

"Damnit!"

Black Star however, grinned.

"Look!"

"Wh-What?"Dead eyes widened as the smoke cleared, revealing his target, still very much intact. He'd missed, he saw it now. He'd missed her by the smallest of margins, and only because she'd flipped onto her hands, and split her legs.

_'With a tiny gap like this...she avoided it?!'_

Even in this position, she glared up at him.

"We may be afraid, but everybody...all of us...

His face crumpled as a solid pair of boots slid into it. The impact was too close, to instinctive, to avoid, and the air wheezed out of his lungs, for the kick slid into his face, down his chin...

"Are giving it our all!"

And slammed Sid-sensei into the dirt.

"Wow." Ichigo blinked, at a loss for words after what he'd just witnessed. "That was...

"Awesome!" Black Star grinned.

Maka now held Soul aloft.

"Resonance of Souls!"

"Eh?" Both boys looked on as a thin blue glow enveloped Soul and Maka, creating a vaint, yet visible aura. That same aura, flowed up into Soul, focusing on his blade, changing it, creating a massive scythe blade that glowed and sparked of pure energy.

"Witch Hunter!"

Sid backed away, clearly fearful of this technique, and both boys looked on in awe.

That is, until Maka's boot slipped on the still wet and muddy ground. Suddenly, that same beautiful weapon slipped from her hands, and before Maka could get Soul back under control, he'd lurched towards both Ichigo and Black Star, both of whom cried out in surprise and threw themselves to the wayside, narrowly escaping the huge swathe of energy that swallowed the ground where they'd been moments ago.

"What the hell were you doing?! Are you trying to kill us?!"

"Soul! This is all your fault!"

"What?! Are you kidding?! What makes it my fault?!"

"You moron! You did it all wrong!"

"Moron?! You're the moron here, Maka! What're ya getting all mad at me for?!"

_'There's gotta be a better way to do this.' _Ichigo shook his head and tried to ignore the fact that Maka had nearly killed him, to blot out the arguement not erupting between his three friends. _'If she can do that, then maybe..._

Ichigo , dusted himsef off, nodded, and raised Zangetsu high, hoisting the blade aloft as his gaze fell upon the huge furrow Maka's Witch Hunt had dug out. _'Yeah, it's worth a shot, so why not?'_

His eyes slid shut, searching for the voice that he'd known for the past two years, the prescence that until two days ago, had always been by his side. It was surprisingly easy, for Ichigo found the welcoming prescence there, just beneath the surface, waiting for him.

_'Oi, old man, you there?'_

_...Yes._ The spirit replied at length.

_'Well, hello to you too. Anyways, you saw that, right? What Maka did?'_

_Yes._

_'Can_ we _do what they just did?'_

_The Witch Hunt? Perhaps. Perhaps not._

_'Eh?'_

_Our souls would have to resonate for such an event to occur. We need to be in perfect sync for that to happen._

_'Damnit old man! Stop being so cryptic!'_

_Calm yourself. _

_'What?'_

_Calm yourself as before, and focus. A technique such as this cannot be used on a mere whim. Focus, Ichigo. Focus on your intent._

_'Yeah yeah, fine.' _Exhaling sharply, Ichigo sank into the inky blackness, seatching for this 'inner focus'. It was slow going, for he couldn't see, yet was guided forward by some unimaginable will. There, in the distance, he could see a faint light, and secretly hoped this didn't mean he was dead.

As he approached, he reached out for it failed, tried again, failed _again_, and finally, on the fifteenth try, found that small measure of calm within himself. Steadying himself, Ichigo reached forward, grasping its manifestation, the small, luminous sphere fitting perfectly within the warm confines of his palm.

It was ice cold to the touch.

_'Is...this it?'_

_Impressive. _He glanced over his shoulder to see Zangetsu hovering a foot or so away, his usual scowl replaced by a stern frown. _You've found your inner resolve, now, concentrate it, tell it what you want to do._

_'I...want to win.' _He told himself, squeezing the sphere lightly, whilst pressing it against his chest. He shuddered against its frigid outer layer, but refused to give in, pressing on the sphere until it wormed its way into his chest. _'I wanna show everyone my power.'_

_Good. _Zangetsu's voice commended him, but when he turned to look for him, the erstwhile spirit had dissapeared, replaced by the intense sensation of adrenaline flowing through his veins.

_'Now, let's get him!'_

"Hiyaaaa!" Ichigo growled, his eyes snapping open, followed by an immense surge of energy. Everyone started in surprise, their bickering fading away as Ichigo continued his strange display. Sid frowned as the light took on a darker tinge and began to swirl about the student in the shape of red luminescent skulls.

_'This boy...his breathing changed....is he..._

"Black Star, Maka," He began, glancing towards them, his words possesing an echo to them now, as if someone, a man, were speaking with him, as if they were one. "Keep Sid-sensei busy for a little while. I need a little time to power up."

"What-

"Maka," Soul warned, shaking his head from the reflection in his scythe. "Don't."

_Concentrate._

Ichigo was only dimly aware of Black Star speaking, then the two nodded, and ran at Sid, who was forced to take his attention away from Ichigo, in order to counter the suddenly renewed ferocity of attacks.

_Concentrate._

Deep within the recesses of his body, two souls, one the purest white, the other, a dark red black sparked, slowly at first, then inched towards each other. Another spark, and they drew closer still, brushing against one another with a faint tingle.

_Concentrate!_

Closer still....closer...closer...

_'There!'_

With a sharp crack, they collided and became as one.

"Here we go, Zangetsu!"Ichigo chanted, his eyes glowing a brilliant sky blue, as if lit from behind by a blindingly bright light. Like Soul, Zangetsu glowed a bright, blinding white blue, but now, black flickered at its edge, until finally, the shinigami declared:

"_Tamashii no Kyōmei!" _

Ichigo's soul roared into existence, making itself known with the intense, continuous scream from its owner. It could be seen now, encompassing him as he held his blade. It was a large, blue mass, with what looked like a mask at the fron, warping, twisting around the handle, as the transformation began. With a shuddering hiss, Zangetsu's blade twisted, curved doubled in size, his edge becoming a honed scythe all his own, with a sharp, crooked angle.

"Maka! Black Star!" The power was putting such a strain on his body, he could barely even speak from it. "Outta the way!"

_'This is..._

Sid, his cold, unfeeling eyes widened, his head jerking upward as Maka and Black Star broke off their attack and darted away, leaping to the opposing sides of the graveyard and out of range. Ichigo was upon him now, the Witch Hunter far too close to entertain any thoughts of dodging it.

"It's over!" Ichigo grinned wildly, taking up the pole, enjoying the awed looks everyone wore as he planted his feet, twisted his body into stance, and brought his Witch Hunter, the transformed Zangetsu, around to strike.

"Here I come!"

--

A pair of curious amethyst eyes watched the scene intently. "Nyah" Blair murmured from her hiding place in the shadows beneath a ruined gravestone at the far side of the graveyard. "Mr. orange-hair sounds like an interesting one." She purred, her curiosity thoroughly peaked, looking on as the boy brandished the super weapon with ease.

"He should be fun to play with."

**Next time: The Final Lesson. Dr. Stein's test!**


	6. Final Lesson and Extra Credit?

**Please! Review please! Reviews are important to me, and my constant inspiration to keep writing this fic! Well, we'll finally get to see some more combat scenes again, but I've decided to put my own little twist on things. Enjoy.**

**_Final Lesson, and....Extra credit?_**

"Talk! Hey! Well?! Who turned you into a zombie?!"

"What's up?" Black Star was visibly perplexed. "Why're you all gung ho?"

"It's cuz you got all the juicy stuff!"

"I was always always a man to keep secrets! That didn't change when I died!"

"Oh really?" Black Star gave Tsubaki's skirt a short tug, and the zombie turned beet red, though how he did so was unexplainable, what with his having long since dried up and the like. "Are you suuuuure?"

"It was Doctor Stein!" The zombie gushed, nearly fainint from a blood loss nosebleed.

"Awright!" Star crowed, unaware of the glare Tsubaki gave him as she retightened her skirt..

Ichigo, still beet red from what he'd just witnessed, stiffened slightly at the mention of that name. Stein? As in batshit crazy doctor Franken Stein? The one who'd dragged him here, made hium fight that monster, _and_ started this whole mess? He was the one who'd turned Sid-sensei into a zombie?

_That_ Stein?

"So where is he?"

"You'll never make me talk!" Sid shook his head emphatically, and struggled against the chains that held him, but to no avail. "I may be super strong, but I'm also super stubborn! I was always that kinda man!"

"C'mon tell us where he is!" Soul now made the mistake of trying to outdo Black Star, via lifting up _Maka's_ skirt. The meister remained silent for a moment, then procurred the first heavy object she could find, which turned out to be Sid's gravestone.

"Maka~...

WHAM!

...chop."

"Doctor Stein had a research lab outside Death City." This Sid muttered into the ground as he, Soul, AND Blackstar lay motionless. The three of them lay there, bleeding from a triple Maka chop, delivered by the particularly heavy gravestone. Ichigo scratched the back of his head, grateful that he'd chosen to stay out of their antics.

"Sorry...they whimpered.

_'Doctor Stein...what_ is _he...?'_

_--_

Click.

Click.

Click.

Slowly, he turned the crank in his head, stopping only after the fifth click.

"It's no use." He sighed, pushing himself of the desk and out of the chair, the thin. "I just can't seem to focus."

His deep silver eyes were watching the smoke from his cigarette float into the night sky in thin and wispy strands, the pale tendrils of burning tobacco reflecting that yellow briefly before it flowed into the blue of the full moon above. His head tilted back as the smoke rose into the air, above the perpetually grinning moon, and into the eternal that stretched beyond.

Under normal circumstances, regardless of the situation, the moon always smiled, though on particularly grisly occasions, apparently such as tonight, it would bleed though it's crazed grin. Some said that that wild and vaguely brutal smile spoke volumes of the nature of the night. Of the unseen movements, and dangers that lurked under the cloak of darkness. Of threats only concealed by one's willingness to look away and forget. Yet, no matter how much one believed, that such things didn't exist, they and the moon would still be there, grinning madly.

Just as it was now.

The stars and the moon always made him think about things that were far too big to truly comprehend. The afterlife, as far as he knew, was understood to be that of heaven or hell, but then what did that make Death City?

He shrugged, unable to focus on that either. His mind was fixated upon the students' arrival. True, he couldn't disect that one under penalty of death, _however, _Shinigami-sama hadn't said a thing about the condition of the other two, so that made them both entirely fair game!

He could hear the voices down below, which probably mean that they'd either stopped Sid, or he'd decided to bring them. Probably the latter. Sighing, he allowed the plum of smoke to curl up into the night once more.

"Ah, so they're here."

_--_

All the lights, all but _one_, were out.

"This is it."

"Stein is in here, isn't he?"

"Let's just take his soul and end this quickly."

The building itself, and everything around it, was literally stitched together, covered in stitches. Add in the sounds of the night,the bloody, grinning moon, and you had a scene straight out of a horror film.

"The training ground's a bit of a dump too." Soul noted. "Look, his laboratory's all stitched up.

"What kind of person could Dr. Stein be?" Maka scratche the back of her head.

Ichigo grimaced.

_'I wish I knew.'_

The door opened before them, ominously.

"Something's cominin'." Soul frowned at this, as the clatter of wheels grew steadily louder.

The door burst open suddenly, and a man in a chair skidded into view. It clipped the step, and tipped over, tossing its occupant onto the floor with a surprised grunt.

Everyone sweatdropped.

"Mah, mah," He groaned, patting himself off, readjusting his chair, then taking his seat once more, steadying the chair with one hand, and turning the crank with the other. "I'm still out of it."

"Ah well." Hoisting himself out the chair, Stein dragged it back inside with him. "Okay! Let me try that one more time!"

"Hey...somebody stop him."

"But...you know, first impressions...

"I'm a little worried."

"Me too." Ichigo and Zangetsu agreed wholeheartedly.

Again, as the chair wheeled him toward the door, the foremost wheel found itself stuck, and once more, it resulted in him tipping over, and again, the professor fell flat on his back.

"What a goofy professor." Everyone shook their heads.

"So, can I help you?" Stein asked inquisitively.

"You're professor Stein, _right_?" Soul began.

"You're the one who's been making Sid-sensei attack the students-

"Ahem." Stein coughed into his fist suddenly, interrupting Maka before she could finish. "I wasn't speaking to you, girl." Picking himself up, the professor fixated his gaze upon Ichigo and Zangetsu. "I was talking, to _them."_

"Eh?" Ichigo blinked, and exchanged a glance with Zangetsu. "Me?"

"Obviously." Leaning forward on his chair, Stein pointed towards his student. "Hmm...Let's see here...A courageous, detemined soul, and a calm, dependable soul. Yes, they're resonating very, very strongly. Good. I was right about you. Congratulations on upholding my expectations."

Everyone gave Ichigo a questioning look, to which the shinigami refused to look at or answer. Zangetsu, remained stoically silent as ever, refusing to reply as well.

Stein's gaze now turned to Maka and Soul.

"However, you guys' soul wavelengths are pretty unstable. A cynical, sarcastic soul, and a truly hard worker...doesn't look like they're resonating at all. Not good, not good at all. You could learn a thing or two from our new student, scythe master Maka Albarn."

"E-Eh?"

"Your soul is quivering." Stein grinned at her expression." How cute."

"Shut up! Shut up! Stop looking!"

"And as for you..." His gaze and chair swiveled to Black Star, ignoring the latter's dramatic monologue about not needing to see any other soul but his own. "Ah, I suppose I could say you're somewhat impressive. What an extremely obstinant, violent soul you have there, boy."

Taking a long drag from his cigarrette, the meiser exhaled.

"There aren't many partners around that suit your soul, are there?"

Even as he said this, Stein skidded across the floor, still in his chair, and spun, backhanding Black Star, with such force, that the young meister toppled to the ground, clutching at his face in agony.

"Black Star!" Tsubaki cried.

"Oh? Ah, now I get it." Tsubaki, now found herself in his sights as the doctor brought his piercing gaze to bear upon her soul. "You must be his partner then, hmm? You've got a cooperative personality, and you're very willing to help others. I nice fit, I suppose."

"Who the hell are you?" Soul scowled.

"Alright then," Stein gave his crank one last good hard turn, then sat up from his chair." I think I've gathered enough data for now. Shall we start the experiment-

"Black Star Big Wave!"

Franken Stein lurched forward, for Black Star had taken advantage of the distraction to ram his wavelength into the chatty teacher. Maka jumped backwards in surprise, thinking that this was it, that the final blow had been dealt.

Until the attack suddenly died out.

"What's going on, he cancelled it out?"

Straightening up, Stein bent down to pick up his spectacles. Taking a moment to readjust them upon his face, the mad professor began to laugh softly to himself.

"Well, isn't this a surprise?"

_'It didn't work at all?!'_

"I checked your soul's data earlier, remember?" Stein turned his head over his shoulder, exposing a sinister grin. "If I know the nature of your soul's wavelength, then I can match it with my own. If the wavelengths are the same, then no matter what the attack, it will have no effect. At the moment you performed your technique, you and I became like a weapon and a master, in a means, you can't possibly harm me."

Black Star stumbled backwards.

"I'll be taking up the offensive from here on."

Darting forward, Stein raised both hands over the terrified meister's head, whose last sight was that of a sinister grin, then Violent bolts of crackling wavelength poured from those hands and into the poor technician's skull, drowning out his screams as he writhed under the intense current...

Then collapsed, blood leaking from his eyes, mouth, nose and ears.

Tsubaki screamed, and covered her face. Ichigo and Maka remained where they were, the latter rooted in place out of fear, the other, too terrified from seeing the professor's soul, to even consider attempting to counter.

"Maka! On your feet!" Soul sharply jerked his meister up and proceeded to give her a pep talk. Ichigo however, didn't hear any of it, for his mind was elsewhere.

"Well?" Stein chuckled, took another puff of his cigarrette, glanced at Zangetsu, then Ichigo, who was looking at Zangetsu, the manifested sword having quietly stepped forward to place himself between master and student just now. "Are you going to stand there, and have you sword fight for you, or-

"Resonance of souls!"

Ichigo could only grit his teeth and clench his hands into fists as Maka, her confidence regained, lunged at Stein. Distracted, the stitched professor turned his attention away, leaving Ichigo to fume and fuss as the two reengaged in battle.

_'Damnit it all!'_

Maka, her footing firm this time, arced Soul up at Stein, who easily caught the witch hunt between both hands, slid back half a pace, then managed to remain firm. His glasses began to crack from the effort, but just as easily, he began to force Soul's scythe back down.

"It's impressive that you can use this at your age." He managed as fine lines appeared in the blade. "However, just because you know the principle behind this technique doesn't mean that-

"STEEEEEIIIN!"

As if the scream wasn't enough to get his attention, Stein caught sight of the bluish orange blur from the corner of his eyes, set on a collision course with his unguarded flank.

The good doctor whirled around, surprised at the hideous red light reflecting off his glasses and into his eyes. Ichigo, who had formerly been unable to raise a hand against his teacher, the only real adult that showed him kindness, was now racing towards Stein, with a deadly _majogari_ all his own, its demonic red grin enough to instill just a touch of worry in his mind..

"Another...Witch Hunt?! But this is...?!"

Releasing his right hand's grip on Soul's attack, the meister raised his now free arm, just in time to block Ichigo's incoming witch hunter in his free hand. The effect was immediate, and for a moment, Stein frowned, recognizing the unmistakeable aura of hatred and malcontent that was brewing darkly about his prodigous apprentice.

It was something dangerously close to madness.

_'This wicked intent...If I hadn't caught that attack just now...he really would've killed me.'_

Such a magnificent specimen!

Maka and Ichigo screamed, each trying to increase their output, but Stein still had both their weapons held fast, refusing to yield, and with no intention to let go, despite the incredible pressure the two exerted. Then, Ichigo snarled a chant under his breath dragging Zangetsu forward with his free hand, the other reaching out into a familair open palmed expression.

"Ha-Hado #33: S-Sou...kat...sui!" The resulting surge of magic all but exploded in his face, but there was so much energy stored within it, that the attack actually surged _towards_ Stein as a result.

He didn't have the time to dodge, but that didn't mean the pale fire crash didn't harm him either. Swearing under his breath, Stein could only wince and take the hit, trying his best to ignore the fire creeping over his skin, until the tormenting flame was at last gone.

_'To think that they could use the witch hunter to this extent...its still incomplete, but....if this continues..._

Twisting his wrists and bearing down, Stein shattered the twin attack, throwing weapon and meister alike into the air. But as Ichigo seeimingly spiraled to his doom in the air, Zangetsu shimmered, taking on human form, just long enough to catch his wielder and fling him to safety.

His balance regained, Ichigo only landed heavily on his feet, as opposed to nearly breaking his skull against the wall as Maka did, too dazed to recover from the assault, unable to move as Soul dove over her. Ichigo...he was breathing heavily from it, but still upright, somehow.

That look in his eyes...wasn't natural. It spoke volumes of pent up frustration and hate, tinged with loneliness and betrayal. This boy, surely his upbringing had been less than satisfactory, judging by the instinctually feral look in his eyes.

"Teme....Ichigo snarled angrily. "I thought you were on my side! So why did you...why did you do that to them?!"

"I see." Stein turned away from Maka's prone form, displaying on a small amount of interest as Zangetsu melded back into sword form, and immediately switched back into Soul Resonance mode. "So you can use it more than twice a day?"

No...wait.

Ichigo wobbled on his last legs, sweat beading from his brow. Zangetsu's light flickered, sporadically at first, then began to dim drastically. He didn't have enough energy left for the witch hunter, as made evident by the luminescent blade shattering, then returning to its massive state.

His battered body couldn't keep up with his wavelength anymore. At his peak, it was manageable at best but now, the strain of using another Witch Hunt had proved to much for the boy.

"Tch." Ichigo scoffed, blood flecking his lips, his knees buckling under him. "Guess I overdid it, huh, Zangetsu?"

No sooner had he toppled forward, then ever silent man was there to catch him, allowing the boy to call into his cloak, thereby softening the landing for his exhausted host.

Once more, he said nothing, but instead nodded in reply.

"Well," Stein eyed Ichigo's unconcious form with a small sigh, wipping his bloody palms off on the hem of his white coat, "I suppose I can give your friends a passing grade but you, you're going to need some extra credit after this."

He now glanced around at everyone, enjoying Soul's stunned reaction that this was all just an extra lesson. Black Star was alright, he'd just been knocked for a loop, Ichigo was out cold, and Sid weakly apologized for tricking everyone.

"Are you kidding me?! This was all a trick?!"

"Hoo boy," Stein sighed, "You're all exhausted after that aren't you? How 'bout you kids stay the night at my place?"

--

And that was how Ichigo spent the night in the house of his crazed professor.

Ichigo hated to admit it, but he was actually sad to see Maka and the others go next morning. Granted, it looked like he'd be coming here every weekend, but still, in these past two days, what with all the commotion caused, or more likely _planned _by Sid and Stein, he hadn't really had a chance to enjoy this place, or be social with anyone.

Well, at least he had some friends in this weird place.

Just one last task to perform, Stein had told him over cereal, and he'd open the door for him to go back home. Though Ichigo saw this task, as more of a punishment then anything job related. Was it really that bad that he'd put up a decent fight for himself? Well, was it?

Apparently Stein had thought so, and convinced Shinigami-sama to give Ichigo one last task to perform before his two days were up. And so, as the morning rays of the sun hit his back, Ichigo Kurosaki found himself wandering through the sleepy streets of death city.

A thoughtful scowl appeared upon Ichigo's visage as he tried to remember the directiond that had been given to him, along with the owner's name. Blair-something or other.

That was all he'd been told to do. Deliver this package to this 'Blair' person, then he'd report back to Sereitei for what Stein loosely referred to as the _easy_ classes.

He pulled the address out of his pocket, examining them once more. "768 Guillotine Way, Death Bed Apartments, Apartment 147. That sounds inviting" Ichigo muttered under his breath.

With that, Ichigo turned away from the meister school, focusing on the maze of a city that now lay before him. There was no way he was going to find the apartment within the day without help. Maybe if he found someone to ask for directions...

However, Ichigo found that he couldn't concentrate as something was tugging incessantly at his pant leg.

Looking down, Ichigo found the cause of his distraction: the cat he'd met when he first arrived in town.

Ichigo's scowl faded into an terse smile as he said "I don't have any food for you. Or are you here to steal my map again?"

The cat shook its head in a no gesture as it sat down on it haunches and favored Ichigo with an inquisitive gaze.

"So it's not thievery this time, huh?" Ichigo murmured. "Well, I'm kinda busy at the moment."

To this the cat mewed cutely, tilting its head in an innocent, inquisitive manner.

Ichigo sighed good-naturedly as he knelt down to the cat's level. "Well, if you must know." He said as he held the badge where the cat could see it. "I'm looking for this thing's owner. It belongs to somebody named Blair. Once I finish this, I get to go home."

For a moment that the cat just stared at the badge, with what appeared to be an appraising gaze. Then, without warning, it lunged forward and snatched the emblem right out Ichigo's hand, and bounded off into the city.

"Hey!" Ichigo exclaimed as he scrambled after the clue bearing cat "Come back here with that!"

The cat, however, paid him no heed.


	7. Bewitched

**Please! Review please! I haven't gotten many reviews thus far, and I've been putting a lot of work into this story! Reviews are important to me, and my constant inspiration to keep writing this fic! So review.... Please?**

**_Bewitched_**

_--_

Stein couldn't help but smile when he saw the look on Ichigo's face. The boy couldn't hide his crimson red blush, and now, he seemed very uncomfortable with that cat that had taken to perching atop his head.

"So, how was it?" He asked, pausing from his work to glance at the boy. "Did you find the item's owner?"

"D-Don't give me that!" Ichigo sputtered furiously. "I know damn well what you did!" Returning his glare to the sleepy neko perched atop his cranium, he continued his tirade. "And you, what the the hell was that?!"

To this Blair simply looked down and tilted her head, projecting innocence from her beguiling amethyst eyes. Ichigo wasn't buying it, and returned his heated glare once more to his professor.

"You had this planned, didn't you?!"

"Hmm?" Stein turned the crank experimentally, trying to focus at the pile of paperwork on his desk, but the slight grin could not be hidden, no matter how hard he willed himself to keep a stern face. Eventually, he gave up, and whirled round in his chair to observe Ichigo's reaction to the denial of his accusation."I haven't the _foggiest_ idea of what you're talking about...

His rimmed spectacles gleamed with his next words.

"But it would seem that you've picked up a passenger."

"No thanks to you." Ichigo grumbled under his breath. He was loathe to try and dislodge the feline, for the first time he'd tried, she'd dug in her claws, and that, was not an experience he was eager to relieve. "And yeah, she won't get off my head!"

Blair mewed innocently, yawned, pawed at Ichigo's hair again, and went back to sleep.

"See?!" He whined.

"Mah, mah," Stein shrugged knowingly. "If she wants to sleep, let her sleep."

"But I have to get back!"

"Oh?" Stein fiddled with his crank once more."Then let's send you back then. By the way though, I should mention something."

"Eh?"

"Not a single moment has passed in your world, compared to ours." Once more, he pulled the sacred key from his pocket, sticking the device into the air, tyhen turning it, as if her were unlocking a door. "We flow on an entirely different time scale."

The portal opened, humming ominously, drowning out the sounds of confusion that flowed in from the others side of the abyss. "Two days here,...is the equivalent of five minutes over there. In this case, ten minutes have passed on your side. Remember that. Oh and by the way, I experimented on you in your sleep."

"Eh?!"

"Ja ne, Kurosaki-san."

Again his vision swam...

--

_'His spiritual pressure...it's..._

"Ta-da!" After digging through the rubble, what the instructor found, was Ichigo standing atop the debris, grinning, enjoying the gobsmacked looks everyone wore at the sight of the huge crater he'd probably made with a simple shakkaho/soukatsui tandem spell. "So whaddya think?"

The instructor shook his head knowingly, sadly. "Ichigo, you can't keep blowing up buildings like this." When the classroom had exploded, everyone had feared the worse. And now, it turned out to be just another one of Ichigo's reckless stunts. To make matters worse, he'd executed the spell perfectly, meaning he couldn't be given detention.

What a letdown.

Blair, still perched resolutely upon Ichigo's head, mewed quietly, earning it a scrutinizing glare. She lazily opened one eye to regard him, then, deciding that he wasn't a threat, snuggled up in Ichigo's hair once more.

"And where did that cat come from? You know the rules, no pets allowed outside of the dorms."

"Neh, sensei?" Ichigo asked, "She followed me here. I didn't bring her."

"Then get her a cage or something."

Ichigo was about to agree with that, until Blair dug her claws into his scalp.

"Y-Yes sir."

And so the days passed. The classes, zanjutsu, kido, not to mention basic math, english and history, were all meticulously boring, and weren't even remotely interesting, though he did enjoy his hoho and hakudo practice at times, when Renj and Izuru joined in. Hell, sometimes Hinamori and Rukia came to watch.

Remembering well Stein's warning, however, Ichigo applied himself to his studies, even when his heart really wasn't in it half the time. Zangetsu would occasionally lend him hints or help him during a test, something that proved to be a godsend, for his grades had begun to slip as his attention waxed and waned in the evening hours.

And then, as if taking dual classes weren't trouble enough, the dreams returned.

Ichigo, with Blair snuggled contently in his lap, watched the sun set in the west from the window of the dormitory he shared with Renji. Despite his efforts to take his mind off of the situation, his thoughts wouldn't leave the dreams and his state of sanity alone.

Carefully, he moved her, to make sure she didn't get him with her claws again.

It was hard to accept the normal routine here, after what he'd just experienced in Death City. A part of him still itched to get back there, to all the excitment, instead of being stuck here in boring old classes.

At least when he was _there, _he didn't have the dreams.

"Oi, just go to sleep, moron."

"I can't."

"Then shut up and let me sleep!"

Ichigo frowned as he lay down to sleep. Even before he closed his eyes he knew it was going to happen. He could feel it. So it came as no surprise to him when she returned to that black nothingness that consisted of only his thoughts and another's after slipping into a deep sleep.

It was the same as before.

_(???)_

_Boy._

His eyes burst open. He looked around, but as usual, there was nothing to be found in the dark room. There was only the door through which he'd unknowingly entered, and even now, its oaken frame and brass doorknob faded away behind him.

_'Eh? You again?'_

There was a lengthy pause, followed by a long yawn.

_Sleepy...so sleepy..._

Brow twitching, the young reaper restrained a biting comment. He'd learned from experience that the voice didn't like being backsassed, and doing so would only end the ever recurring dream, until the next night.

_'Ridddles again?' _He managed through clenched teeth, and no sooner had the words passed his lips, then another, lengthy yawn filled the female's sultry, pained voice.

_I've been sleeping for so many years...eight hundred years..._

_'Cut it out.' _His tongue slipped, and irritation flooded his voice, frustration filled his mind,_ 'Whaddya want?'_

_Hmph. _The voice snorted, distressed._ Go away then. I don't like children that talk back. _Immediately, the blackness began to fade, replaced with an eerie landscape, that of a black plain with a blood red sky.

Ichigo loathed this place, and it wasn't just the skeletons scattered about, bloodied swords, rammed into the ground at haphazard marks, filled with the screams of the dying as spides skittered about their decaying corpses. It was the utter sense of loneliness that pervaded this field, leaving him hollow inside.

_'Fine fine! Whaddya want, an apology?! There, I'm sorry! Happy now?'_

_Yes. _Self satisfied, the death wails faded from his ears, leaving him with the deafening silence once more. But it was different this time, something was off. The landscape seemed to unfocus, then focus once more, and as his vision cleared, he found himself staring at what was known as a golem._ That will do...for the moment. _

_'So...is that it?'_

The creature was large, he noted, larger than most golems. Why was the dream different this time? It had to be somewhere in this other world, for when he looked up, he could see the sun, laughing at him.

_Tell me, do you know my name?_

Jerked from his reverie, Ichigo could only blink in surprise. _'Eh? What now?' _What was this _feeling_...this strange sensation of nostalgia he felt all of a sudden?

_My name, do you know it?_

Had he been here before?

_'Well, um...no. Should I?'_

_Yes, you should. _Again, she sounded upset, and for some reason, he felt slightly sorry for her, even he knew it was her fickle temper that often-wait, how did he know THAT?

_After all, you're the one who's destined to awake me, Ichigo. My prince._

What in blazes was going on here?!

_'Prince?! How...How the hell do you know my name?'_

_Arachne. _He stiffened slightly at that, his eyes slowly widening in surprise. _That...That is my name. Remember it, cherish it, always hold it close to your heart, until we see each other again._ He could see it, he could see it now, right before his very eyes. This golem wasn't just some soulless cadaver, a lifeless creation designed only to defend a certain location...

Something...

Was inside.

_A soul._

The voice laughed softly, happily as he stared at the lifeless golem.

_Oh, so do you remember me now, my dear Ichigo? I'm so glad to see that time hasn't worn down your memories completely. _The golem shuddered, and began to crack. The spiders, crawling across its coarse surface began to amass, taking form, taking shape...

_Now...awake._

_--_

"Gah!" For what seemed like the millionth time, he started awake, covered in a cold sweat. Unable to recognize his surroundings in the inky blackness, Ichigo panicked, glanced this way and that, calming only once he heard Renji's snorring, and felt the light weight of Blair nestled in his lap.

Clutching his head, he stifled a pained groan and threw himself back down upon the pillows.

"What's happening to me?"

"Nyah?" Blair yawned just then, sat up decided to stretch in his lap. "Ichigo's being noisy. Did you have a bad dream?"

Renji began to stir.

"Urusai." Ichigo hissed at the inquisitive cat. "We had a deal, remember? No talking!"

As if realizing something he hastily added:

"And no sudden transformations either!"

"Nyah," Blair sat back on her haunches and pouted as she pawed at his chest. "You're no fun." Ichigo didn't answer, he was glancing anxiously at Renji, who only now decided to turn over and go back to sleep.

"Oi." Ichigo whispered finally. "Blair."

"Nyah?"

"Who's Arachne?"

"Nyah?!" Blair clearly hadn't been expecting that, for she gave a startled hiss, her claws extending on reflex, drawing a pained yelp from Ichigo as the nails dug deeply into his thighs. "Where did you hear that name?"

"In one of my dreams." Ichigo muttered finally, unsure whether to trust the mischevious feline with this information.

"Arachne...Eight hundred years ago, she made the first demon weapon." Blair relented at last, her furry little head drooping slightly, to be covered by her hat. "By combining the soul of a witch, and the soul of a human, she made herself a heretic, hunted down by her fellow witches, and Shinigami-sama himself."

"And?" He asked, eager to hear more.

"And that's it?" Blair circled his lap three times, then lay herself back down to sleep. "She just...dissapeared." Ichigo thought of revealing the rest of his dream, of the golem and the soul hidden within but some instinct told him not to, warning him against exposing any more details.

Instead, he just stroked Blair's coat, earning himself a satisfied purr.

"Arigatou, Blair."

And so, the days passed once more, uneventful, unchanging, until...

--

_(Friday)_

Ichigo, still reeling from the events of what had just occurred, blankly stared at captain Ukitake. He'd just been rudely dragged out of his bed, summons from a captain, his proctor had said as he dragged the first year through the halls. Ichigo understood the reasoning behind it, but why were the summons now, and why did it have to be at five AM?!

"Sir?" He stifled a yawn, "Why did you call me here?"

"..." For a moment, the captain didn't answer.

Ichigo didn't understand why he'd been called here. And to make matters worse, Rukia, whom he'd bumped into on his way here, was terribly upset about something, having now withdrawn into herself, the look of utter misery upon her face forever etched into his mind.

Was it because she'd been adopted into the Kuchiki clan, and graduated early? No, that didn't make sense. Renji was down about it, true, but Rukia had only just been transferred to squad thirteen, and she'd been nothing short of elated. So why would she-

"Kurosaki-san, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Eh?" His eyes tripled as Ukitakte turned slightly, exposing a certain item. Ichigo both saw and recognized the badge resting upon the cushion. It was the mark, the crested armband of the squad thirteen. And it was splattered with blood as if....

"When you graduate, I'd like you to take over Kaien's position...as my lieutenant."

Ichigo froze, unable to believe his eyes and ears. He couldn't believe what he was being offered here, then again, most people wouldn't understand it either. He wasn't even in his second year, and already, he was offered a guarranteed position in a squad?

"Wait...what happened to Kaien-dono?"

The look Ukitake wore spoke volumes in the silence.

"Kaien has...passed on."

--

"Oh, good, you're here. Let's go, then."

"Wha-whoa?!"

This was _not_ Ichigo's idea of extra credit. The moment he'd arrived, Stein announced that they would be going to Italy, as per ordered by Shinigami-sama himself. Confused, Ichigo asked what the heck Italy was, to which Stein replied that he'd explain it, and the situation on the way.

Apparently, there was someone out there devouring human souls at an alarming rate. From what little he'd been told thus far, people like this one, were the reason Shibusen had been established. Maka, who'd been dispatched to Italy earlier, had been out of contact after arriving, and so Shinigami-sama had sent Spirit and Stein.

Which was exactly why Ichigo had been dragged with them.

Thankfully, they didn't have to look far to find Maka, or the demonsword wielder. Screams, unearthly wails, screeches of weapons crossing and uncrossing, were clamoring loudly within the nearby chapel....

--

She shouldn't have come here.

Maka closed her eyes and tried to shield Soul's prone form as best she could. Their attacker was inhuman. She couldn't block, she couldn't attack, she couldn't even escape. Now, she could only try to protect Soul, as he'd just protected her from the killing blow.

Imagine her surprise when the strike never came.

A massive blade burst through the door, impaling Chrona in the stomach with such force, that the sword erupted through her gut, sticking out the other end. "W-What happened?! M-My body...She had just enough time to cry out in surprise, then the door shattered violently, catapaulting her backwards and across the pues, where she was lost from sight.

"I might have something to say about that, teme."

Maka flinched, covering her head instinctively as another massive wavelength roared into existence, resonating just beyond the brink of madness. A tall dark figure, clad all in black and white, stalked through the door, brandishing a massive sword the likes of which she'd seen many, many times.

"I-Ichigo?"

He'd come with professor Stein and Papa?

But then...why was he so different now?

She'd only seen him last week, and he'd changed this much? His soul's coloration had darkened from a light blue, to an almost pitch black red, with slitted, yellow eyes at the front. He hadn't even used Tamashi no Kyomeii, and he was already this powerful?

The man reached up to the cloak hiding his face, exposing long shocks of orange, spikey hair. Cold auburn eyes glared into her teal green, then softened kindly, as if to assauge her doubts.

"Yo." He grinned as the tears began to well up in her eyes. "You look awful, Maka."

She turned her head away so he wouldn't see her tears.

"...Urusai."

"Baka yarou." He tapped her lightly on the head. "When did you get so whiney?"

"Oi, sensei." Ichigo turned toward his teacher, who at the moment, was currently covering Soul with his coat, whilst Spirit looked on with some irritation that his cool entrance had been ignored. "This guy, he's pretty close to becoming a Kishin, ain't he?"

"Well then, let's get started-

"Wait."

"Please...sensei." Ichigo pleaded with his mentor, the man who had been, more or less, a father figure to him. "Please, let me do this." It wasn't that he wanted to show off, and it didn't have anything to do with being his own strength, he simply wanted to take this punk and show him...

That no one messed with Shibusen.

"Hmm?" The professor took a short puff of his cigarette, then returned his attention to Chrona, whom Ragnarok was currently harassing over his foolishness. "Are you sure about that? If you slip up, he could easily kill you."

"...I know."

A battle cry returned his attention to the present.

"This is the first time I've seen someone with orange hair! I don't know how I should deal with you!"

"Really?" Ichigo scoffed, pointing Zangetsu square at Chrona, who had now unwisely chosen to charge headlong at him, her sword crying for its host to devour the one before them. "That's too bad. However, _I_ know how to deal with people like you."

"RAAAGH!"

With ease, he deflected the powerful strike, showing only vague interest as Ragnarok screeched against Zangetsu's polished edge. Shrieking in frustration, Chrona took another swipe at him, only for the meister to step aside, allowing her to miss once more as he danced away from the accursed blade.

"Is that it?!" He laughed at her frustration, effortlessly dodging away from her frenzied strikes, never allowing her to land even so much as a glancing blow. "Is that all you can do, demon sword wielder?!" She screamed at that remark, furiously stabbing him through the chest.

Or rather, the patch of ground he'd recently vacated, for his backflip carried him over, and behind Chrona, who weakly stabbed up at him in an attempt to gore the shinigami as he arced overheard. But as her blade nearly grazed his cheek, Ichigo lurched back darted under Ragnarok, grabbed Chrona by the wrists, and dragged her to him.

Chrona started in surprise, as she found herself trapped, staring into a pair of soulless, chestnut brown eyes, cruel, much like her mother's, but, somehow colder, much, much colder. Even Ragnarok flinched at the sight of those hardened orbs that spoke only of death and bloodshed.

"Eeeeeh?" Ichigo chuckled darkly, his face hidden in the shadow of his weapon, revealing only his sinister grin, a visage that widened as he lashed out to burry his hand deep within her stomach, forcing her to spit out more of that mysterious black blood. "Done already?"

"Bloody Needle!" A thousand darts pierced his body from every direction, leaving his back, then the rest of his body to look like a living pin cushion, punctured from every conceivable angle. Maka averted her gaze, only to hear an amused chortle.

Laughter.

"Not bad." Ichigo shrugged off the cloak then, to reval what should have been a bloodied corpse, but was instead, smooth, flawless skin, the wounds resealing themselves even now. "A week ago, that might've actually killed me."

The breath hitched in her throat as she saw the scars about his neck, chest, and back. Where had they come from? It looked as if he'd been cut open, then stitched back together.

"But that's...

"Instantaneous regeneration." Stein finished for her, a glimmer of pride in his eyes.

"But how-

"How else?" Stein interrupted with a small smile. "He allowed me to experiment on him after we fought. He's surprisingly resilient really. He screamed and screamed in his sleep during the surgery, but he never once asked me to stop. Come to think of it, he didn't wake up for awhile after that night. Probably why he left _after_ the lot of you."

Maka shuddered as Ichigo spoke.

"Now," Ichigo began, brushing the blood matted hair from his face, "I'll be taking the offensive."

With surprising speed, he retaliated, dragging the block back, and thusly, pulling the demon sword and its owner along with him. With a cry of pain, he slammed Chrona into the floor, then brutally kicked her across one of the many aisles.

"Screech Alpha!"

A dark surge of blackish purple light screamed out from the unseen slash, leaving Ichigo unprepared.

"Shit!"

The black crescent of energy arced forward at the shinigami from point blank range. It plowed onward, pushing Ichigo backwards as he was forced to hold his block against the powerful attack. With a simple flick of his wrist, however, the blade technician slashed the swathe of energy in half. As his vision cleared, he saw that Chrona was already flying towards him in the wake of the attack; Ragnarok a veritable blur of motion.

Their blades crashed against each other once more as Chrona launched into a flurry of strikes. Ichigo dodged and parried perfectly, his movements appearing effortless in contrast with his opponent's sloppy, rage-driven attacks. Chrona suddenly jabbed forward with her blade, the black tip of Ragnarok aiming directly for Ichigo's chest. The shinigami skipped directly backwards and quickly lifted his blade to counter, swatting the screeching blade aside as if it weight was little more than a feather's.

"What the?!"

"Hado #1:" Ichigo muttered, slamming his palm into her stomach. "Sho."

Extending his sword forward, Ichigo rammed Zangetsu into the ground and used the handle to vault over the attack. Kicking off the air with a burst of spirit energy, he soared over the demon blader.

Still struggling to rise, Chrona was unable to react in time, as Ichigo crashed down from on high, delivering a brutal kick from the air, leaving Chrona stunned and reeling across the stone cobblestones.

"Getsuga...

Azure flame bulged from his arm, flowing into Zangetsu's tip.

"Ten-

_Soul protect. Release._

The word's died in his throat, his head snapped up as the wavelength hit him. To say that it was massive was an understatement, it filled the whole city in an instant, resonating just above the bloody, grinning moon.

As Maka peered out the door, she too felt the sinister energy.

"This is...

"A witch." Ichigo muttered, glaring at the source of the wavelength.

She sat there, atop her broomstick, her face hidden in a black cowl, her wide grin barely even visible from this altitude. Her soul was a harsh violet, arrows exuding from its core in a swaying motion, as if blown by the wind, arriving with her voice.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, and Zangetsu." She began, raising her arms in an undulating motion. "The strongest student and weapon in Shibusen. I must say, your record is nothing short of impressive. You handled Chrona rather well."

"Thanks." Ichigo jabbed Zangetsu up at her, well aware of the chant she was working on, and prepared to deal with her before she could launch whatever spell she had planned. "Now, if you're done talking, I'll be taking your soul."

"Oh?" She replied, raising her palms forward....

"I'm afraid I can't allow that."

_'What?'_

"Vector Arrow!"


End file.
